England chief staying optimistic

Team England's chef de mission believes the Commonwealth Games in Delhi will come together at the last minute "like an Indian wedding".

But Craig Hunter also revealed that some accommodation in the athletes' village remains "extremely uninhabitable and quite dangerous" with the opening ceremony just 11 days away.

"We've had some high profile members of the OC (Organising Committee) there and they've assured us that our requests will be met within the next 24-48 hours," Hunter told Sky News from Delhi.

"England is in probably the best shape of most of the teams that are already here. When we arrived last week, in our accommodation we could see what needed to be done.

"We've had a new member of the team join us and he came in and said, 'Yeah I agree with what you're saying, there is some work to be done but I can see athletes taking up residency in the England towers'. That's certainly not true for the whole of our accommodation and it's not true around the whole of the village.

"We looked in some towers where, even with countries supposed to be moving in, there's no plaster on the walls. They are deep in water and extremely uninhabitable and quite dangerous in many respects.

"We are in good shape, but what we are demanding is that all 71 nations are treated equally."

England's team gave the Games a much-needed boost by announcing that the first 22 competitors - members of the men's bowls and hockey teams - will fly out on Thursday and Hunter remains optimistic that the Games, which begin with the opening ceremony on Sunday, October 3, will go ahead as planned.

But he admits early next week is "crunch time" for the organisers, whose efforts have been hampered by an extended monsoon season.

"I've always said this event will be like an Indian wedding and it will be ready just before the bride arrives," Hunter added.