Bermuda have been handed a possible showdown against England in the opening match of the second Twenty20 Cricket World Cup should they win the Associates Qualification tournament in Belfast, Ireland.

The draw for the second Twenty20 World Cup was released by the International Cricket Committee (ICC) yesterday in England, where the tournament will be held next June, with Bermuda being placed in one of two groups.

Should Bermuda win the tournament, they will be pitted in the group that contains England and Pakistan, and the opening match of the tournament against the hosts at Lord's

Should they come second, the Island will be in the group along with South Africa and New Zealand.

However, this is not concrete as controversy surrounds the involvement of Zimbabwe, who are currently in Group A.

Zimbabwe's eligibility to compete will be determined next Wednesday when the 13 directors on the ICC executive board discuss concerns about the country's prolonged political turmoil.

Should the board decide that Zimbabwe should not be allowed into the tournament, this will potentially open a spot for the third place team in the Associates qualification.

With all this being said, Bermuda will have to come no worse then second to guarantee an automatic place in the World Cup, needing no favours from anyone should they not complete this task.

The Island's national side will square off against the likes of Canada, Netherlands, Scotland, Kenya and hosts Ireland in qualification, with all the teams competing gunning for the prize of being involved in this spectacle.

The ICC associate countries will compete in qualifying in Belfast this August.

Australia will face the West Indies in its first game at the World Cup, while India will launch the defense of its title against Bangladesh in Group A and is then scheduled to play Zimbabwe.

"Last year was a memorable tournament and it was a great feeling to lift that trophy," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.

"We had gone into it as underdogs, no one really expected us to win it as we had only ever played one Twenty20 international before.

"It was a great tournament and a sweet moment when we won. It is one of the things I will cherish for the rest of my life."

England captain Paul Collingwood is ecstatic about the tournament.

"It's going to be great," Collingwood (right) said. "Already Twenty20 cricket is massive. It's great to play in and from a player's point of view it is obviously a shortened form of the game but it is very intense and every single ball matters."

New Zealand, South Africa and a second associate team are in Group D.

Sri Lanka is also in Group C with Australia and West Indies.

The Twenty20 World Cup starts June 5 to June 21 in England.