Cricket race abuse row

Mr Ali says it was the worst racial incident he has experienced

A Yorkshire cricket league chairman has resigned after members of his team were racially abused during a match.

Zahid Ali's side, St Chad's Broomfield, was playing at Great Preston, near Leeds, in the Wetherby League when taunts were allegedly made to fielders.

The league has since fined Great Preston £100, put the club on probation for two years, and banned one supporter for two years.

But Mr Ali, 50, believes the action was too lenient and has resigned his position as chairman of the 74-team Wetherby League.

Worst incident

He explained how two of St Chad's Asian cricketers were accused of being "al Qaeda" members by spectators.

He said: "In the second half of the match two of our bowlers who were fielding on the boundary were racially abused and harassed.

"It got so bad that two of our non-Asian players asked to swap with them.

"No-one did anything to stop it."

Mr Ali, who is captain of the team, added that the incident in May was the worse he had ever come across in 30 years of playing club cricket in the Leeds area.

Further action

The league has said it will not tolerate racism and will come down hard on proven cases.

But Mr Ali said St Chad's was holding a meeting to decide whether to press for further action to be taken.

He added: "The club has said it would never go to play at Great Preston again.

"People are now saying we shouldn't host them as well."

Officials from Great Preston apologised for the incident at the game.