Cuba were set to play NC Dinos at the ballpark of Liou Dou in Taiwan on Thursday as part of their preparations for the World Baseball Classic, which takes place from 2 to 19 March.
"We have never experienced anything quite like this before," an official NC Dinos with the team in Taiwan told Reuters by telephone on Friday.
"It is customary for baseball teams from two different countries have two different balls and use balls of their choice (when fielding).
"But 40 minutes before the game, Cuba insisted that both sides use the ball they have chosen," added the official. "We refused because our players could get injured using balls that are not familiar with.
"We could risk not getting injured in a warm-up match like this. Then they brought another ball, we once again said no. They didn't give up and brought a more and we turned them once again.
"Finally, about 15-20 minutes before the game, they just notified us that they abruptly canceled the game."
The official said Dinos had been taken aback by the decision of Cuba to cancel the game.
"What they insisted that it was absurd and goes against normal practice."
With no game play, both groups of players started practicing on the field.
"After the game was cancelled at the last minute, our team has stayed and practiced in the stadium and did not leave the Cuban team," added the official.
"So we practiced there too for a while, the two teams in the same space, until we asked them to leave ... She was so embarrassing."
Dinos head coach Kim Kyung-Moon lamented the missed opportunity for his team to play one of the best international sides and said it would have been a valuable experience for his players.
Cuba are placed in the WBC Pool A alongside Japan champions, Brazil and China.
(Reported by Narae Kim in Seoul, writing by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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