Tamim and rise in hate crimes of 23%

Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal and Essex have determinedly played down

the reasons for his abruptly abandoning a stint with the county, after allegations

emerged that his wife was the victim of a racially-motivated incident

in Stratford in east London.

A nervous Tamim reported an altercation to Essex Cricket on Monday,

the day after his debut in a NatWest Blast match (click)

against Kent at Beckenham, and asked that his contract be terminated

so the family could return to Bangladesh.

The arrival of Tamim's family in the UK coincided with protests at Stratford

train station against recent acid attacks and Islamophobia in east London.

The anti-racism demonstration came after police confirmed that an acid attack

in neighbouring Newham was being treated as a hate crime.

"I want all my fans and well wishers to know that I cut short my season

with Essex to come back home early for personal reasons,"

a statement on his official Facebook page read.

"Some media reported that we were the target of attempted hate crime.

This is really not true."

William Shakespeare of Stratford On Avon :

scene of this mid-summer madness , please come in ~

OR any other aspiring Playwright