Afghanistan to play U-19 qualifiers after all

After much toing and froing the ICC have confirmed that Afghanistan will arrive in time to play the Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers in Toronto. Sierra Leone, however, are still at the mercy of the airlines.

Both sides were delayed in having visas issued, which was in part due to applying to the wrong immigration department of the Canadian government. The tournament got underway yesterday and Afghanistan were ruled out, prompting the cancellation of all their flights - but the visa eventually arrived, and Afghanistan's management have managed to board another flight on Tuesday morning from Kabul to Dubai. They ought to arrive in Wednesday in time to take part.

The ICC's event technical committee had earlier ruled that if Afghanistan and Sierra Leone managed to arrive by September 5 (Saturday) they could possibly still play any missed matches on the tournament's reserve days.

As yet, Sierra Leone's visas have not yet been issued.