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A crackdown on overseas amateur cricketers has potentially left hundreds including Bermuda cricketers ineligible to play for their teams at a critical point in the season.
Every summer, cricket clubs throughout England and Wales sign up players from across the globe to strengthen their sides in recreational leagues.
Many of these players are unpaid amateurs simply coming over for the experience and enter the United Kingdom on standard visitor or student visas.
However, BBC Sport understands a recent audit by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) of its player registration database has thrown up discrepancies which contravene visa regulations defined by the Home Office.
Approximately 1,700 players - men and women - were flagged by the audit and a significant number of potential breaches have been discovered.
The result is that some overseas players will be banned for vital matches as the season reaches the business end, potentially missing crucial games which determine league titles as well as promotion and relegation.
The ECB is currently working through a list of those affected and contacting them directly.
A number of cases are said to relate to players who have entered the country on student or standard visitor visas but would in fact be considered a 'professional sportsperson' according to Home Office criteria.
The Home Office defines a professional sportsperson as someone who "has represented their nation or national team within the previous two years, including all youth and development age groups from under-17s upwards".
It means that any player who has played a T20 international for an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the past two years is classed as a professional.
From 1 January 2019, all matches between ICC members have been given full T20 international status.
However, many of those who play for Associate nations outside the top-20 T20 sides in the men's game have never been paid to play cricket and the same applies to most of those outside the top-16 of the women's game.
In what appears to be a broader tightening up of their obligations to the Home Office, the ECB has also passed on a list of names of those deemed to have potentially breached the terms of their visa.
Earlier this summer, the ECB published a redrafted version of its Home Office Immigration Rules for Cricket Overview with notes circulated to county boards for distribution to clubs.
An ECB spokesperson said: "As a governing body we are expected to maintain immigration compliance within the sport, so registered players from the recreational game are captured within the annual audit.
"These are players who are not normally resident in the UK and will be here under various entry permissions.
"As these are immigration rules, the ECB has no power to 'clear' a player. We have a duty to report any breaches or potential immigration breaches to the Home Office, and would contact the club to make them aware and explain why."
The ECB has largely left it up to county boards, leagues and clubs themselves to enforce eligibility in the past.
It is understood this year, however, ECB staff have personally contacted a number of players urging them to stop playing league cricket.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Immigration brings many benefits to the UK, but it must be controlled and delivered through a fair system.
"We expect sports governing bodies to ensure all players within their remit are compliant with their visa conditions and the wider immigration system. This includes an assessment of those who qualify as professional sportspeople."
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