The Cuban blind baseball team left for Buckinghamshire, England, where the second edition of the World Championship will take place from 27-29 of this month.

The day before they were flagged off at the Latin American stadium in the capital by the director general of High Performance of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), José Antonio Miranda, who handed the national ensign to captain Maikel Merino.

The tournament, sponsored by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), has the participation of nine teams divided into two groups.

The West Indies were placed in Group B alongside China, Hungary, the Netherlands and defending champions Italy, while the United States, Pakistan, Tanzania and the British hosts will compete in Group A.

According to the rules of the competition, the second-placed team from one bracket will face the first-placed team from the other, with the winners battling for the gold medal and the losers for the bronze.

Organised by the British Baseball Federation the cup aims to provide a platform for visually impaired athletes to showcase their talent at the highest level.

Cuba, although new to the sport, has been playing for several years and has won medals at international tournaments, including a gold medal at an event in France in 2017.

The official ball of the event will be a ProA rubber ball, suitably modified with five 16-millimetre holes and one 18-millimetre hole, eccentrically placed and containing two 24 x 21-millimetre nickel-plated brass bells.

Players may use any WBSC-approved wood, aluminium or composite baseball or softball bat and the rules are based on the manual, published in English and Spanish by the organisers.