England cleared over ball tampering allegations after James Anderson footage draws flak

England head coach has refuted the serious allegations regarding the ball tampering by James Anderson in the ongoing Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), as the visitors-led by Joe Root was seen cleared by umpires.

Australia is trailing by 61 runs with 103 for two in 43.5 overs owing to their second innings total.

The umpires were seen intervening early on which further saw England pace bowling spearhead Anderson was caught on the footage while holding the thumb firm to the quarter of the ball, as Bayliss reiterated there was nothing malicious about the visuals.

“Every team in the world does that, obviously the umpires don’t want it to go overboard. It’s a beat-up,” Bayliss told Journalist after the stumps were withdrawn.

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It’s pertinent to mention that, the on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and Sundaram Ravi (India) had a chat with England skipper Joe Root when fast bowler Stuart Broad threw the ball which was found way short from the wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow when Australia was batting in the fourth Ashes Test.

So much so, it has been revealed the Broad has aimed at the rough patch, as Bayliss remarked Root has already been consulted over the throw by a fielder which somewhat escalated the new controversy.

“The umpires spoke to both captains in this Test match about throwing the ball into the rough areas,” Bayliss maintained.

Interestingly, the commentators have accused visitors of the ball tampering on day four before the day was abandoned due to the rain.

Moreover, in the past fielders have aimed at the stumps which further saw the ball had roughed up a bit which subsequently helped the bowlers who are known for reversing the ball, in a bid to collect wickets and England has been in control against Steven Smith-led Australia

The legendary spinner Warne who is currently enjoying the commentary stint has further questioned Anderson’s intention while reportedly rolling his thumb over the cherry.

“If you are going to touch the ball at all, it’s not just shining it, you want to do it right in front of the umpire so they know there is nothing untoward going on,” Warne concluded.

The commentators also questioned the way bowler got hold of the ball, as Shane Warne, Mike Hussey, and Mitchell Johnson were adamant in approach while expressing the shock.

“I’m not sure you are allowed to use your fingernail there,” the Channel Nine commentator Shane Warne stated.

On the other side, 2013-14 Ashes protagonist for Australia with the ball Mitchell Johnson was taken by surprise when he stated how it’s possible to reverse the ball in first 10 overs.

The left-arm fast bowler, who is representing Perth Scorchers in the ongoing Big Bash League tweeted:

https://twitter.com/MitchJohnson398/status/946538760975482882

The 55-year-old Coulburn-born Bayliss further lambasted the former Australian cricketers.

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Bayliss remarked he was told by one of the on-field umpires Dharmasena that there is nothing to worry about; following the commentators passed the comments

“Kumar (Dharmasena) said ‘don’t worry about it, there is absolutely nothing in it’. He said it (the accusations) was a beat-up,” Bayliss maintained.

Bayliss cleared the air by saying Anderson had no ill intentions to scuff the ball while remarking umpires were there to decide upon any of the wrongdoings.

“If he was trying to scratch it, he was doing it on the wrong side to go reverse. I’m quite sure that wasn’t the case,” Bayliss concluded.

However, former England skipper Michael Vaughan has slammed the tall claims while taking to the micro-blogging website Twitter:

Ball tampering incident is ridiculous … Clearly a slow news day in #Melbourne … #OnOn

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) December 29, 2017