With all the riches that are flooding into the shortest form of the game, Azeem Rafiq, a 17-year-old off spinner who lives in Barnsley, would have been hoping to make a name for himself in Twenty20 - but not in these circumstances.

Rafiq, who attends Holgate School and was voted BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year for Yorkshire in 2006, was not among the Yorkshire Carnegie players as they warmed up for their Twenty20 Cup quarter-final against Durham Dynamos at the Riverside yesterday afternoon, but his appearance in their final group match, against Nottinghamshire Outlaws on June 27, led to the extraordinary eleventh-hour abandonment of the game in Chester-le-Street.

On Friday, a week after that group game, Yorkshire were notified that their registration for Rafiq was incomplete and they were asked to provide further documentation. That paper-work revealed yesterday not only that Rafiq was not fully registered, but he did not have a British passport and was therefore classed as an overseas player. “When we found out that his forms hadn’t been signed, it seemed that we would get a fine or maybe a slap on the wrist,” Martyn Moxon, the Yorkshire director of cricket, said.

“But it was the passport issue that made it more serious. It’s a disaster for Yorkshire. It’s a nightmare situation.”

Rafiq, who moved to England from Pakistan in 2001, had been given his debut against Nottinghamshire in the Twenty20 Cup only because Michael Vaughan was made unavailable by the ECB and David Wainwright, the left-arm spinner, was ruled out by injury. A highly promising off-spin bowler, who could also bowl the “doosra”, Rafiq had previously captained England Under15, represented England at under17 level and played several games for Yorkshire’s second XI. But more stringent registration rules, set by the ICC rather than the ECB, are required in first-team cricket.

The passport issue was discovered by the ECB yesterday morning, resulting in a day of frantic legal activity at Lord’s. At 2.45pm, 15 minutes before the gates at the Riverside were scheduled to open, David Harker, the Durham chief executive, was informed that the match could not go ahead. He protested, arguing that with 6,000 pre-sold tickets and live television coverage, the game should proceed. His arguments led to further discussions, but the match was called off shortly before 5pm, ten minutes before its scheduled start.

“When people have paid their money in advance and come down here, there has to be a pretty good reason to stop the game going ahead,” Harker said. “Whether this was a good enough reason, I’m not entirely convinced. We took the view that we play the game and then worry about it [Yorkshire’s punishment] afterwards.”

The ECB took the view that, because other counties were affected, the result of last night’s match was bound to be contested. Yorkshire’s nine-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge meant that they qualified for the quarter-finals as one of the two best third-placed teams, just ahead of Nottinghamshire in the North division and Glamorgan in the Midlands/West/Wales division.

Yorkshire must wait for the findings of an ECB disciplinary panel, which meets on Thursday. Their game against Nottinghamshire could be replayed, or they could be thrown out of the competition, allowing Nottinghamshire to play a quarter-final against Durham at the Riverside.

Passprt to confusion

Born on February 27.

Attends Holgate School and plays for Barnsley Cricket Club.

2006 Captains England Under-15, North Under-15 and Yorkshire Under-15 while playing for Yorkshire Under-17. Won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year for Yorkshire.

2007 Makes Yorkshire second XI debut against Kent at Beckenham.

June 27, 2008 Makes Yorkshire debut in Twenty20 Cup victory over Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Trent Bridge.

July 7 Twenty20 quarter-final with Durham Dynamos at the Riverside is abandoned when the ECB announces that it is investigating allegations that Rafiq was ineligible for the Nottinghamshire match