Ehsan Mani, the new head of the International Cricket Council, warned Kenya on Thursday that they face a major struggle to be granted full Test status.

Kenya demanded to be promoted from one-day to Test status after surprisingly reaching the semi-finals at this year's World Cup, but Mani appeared to dampen those expectations in his first address in his new post.

Mani pointed out that Bangladesh, the 10th nation to be granted Test status in 2000, had failed to make the grade, adding that their away tours would be scaled down.

"Kenya's performance in the World Cup was exciting but the step-up from the one-day game to Test cricket is a huge and difficult one," he said.

"Test cricket's newest member, Bangladesh, is also facing a challenging time. The performance of Bangladesh at the international level has been disappointing."

Mani, in a speech to an ICC forum, said the world governing body would help with new training and development programmes in Bangladesh but added: "Over the next two years there may be a reduction in the amount of international cricket Bangladesh is playing, particularly outside Bangladesh."

Bangladesh have yet to win a Test and have not won a match of any kind against top-flight opposition since the 1999 World Cup, losing to Canada at this year's tournament in South Africa.