Anderson claims are tactical - Cook

England v India, Thursday 17 July

Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and Radio 4 LW from 10:25 BST, text commentary on BBC website

England captain Alastair Cook says India's claims against James Anderson were designed to unsettle the bowler.

The International Cricket Council has charged Anderson, 31, with misconduct following an alleged spat with Ravindra Jadeja in last week's drawn first Test.

Anderson is clear to play at Lord's after it was confirmed his case would not be heard before Thursday's match.

"It's probably a bit of a tactic by India," Cook said. "We are surprised but we can't let it be a distraction."

Level 3 charges are referred to a judicial commissioner for adjudication.

The commissioner will hold a hearing as soon as reasonably practical, but within 14 days.

All breaches at this level carry a penalty of between four and eight suspension points.

Two suspension points equate to a ban of one Test.

Asked at his news conference if he thought India were trying to get Anderson banned he said: "I think so, I think that's pretty much where it's come from."

Anderson, second in the list of all-time England Test wicket-takers, faces a potential four-Test ban when he becomes the first England cricketer to go before an ICC judicial commission for his level three charge.

An England and Wales Cricket Board statement said the bowler "categorically denies the accusations" and has lodged its own complaint against Jadeja.

"I am going to sound like (Arsenal football manager) Arsene Wenger here and say I didn't see the incident," Cook said. "Unfortunately I am not allowed to talk about it.

"No one knew about it until after the game. It does seem a bit of a surprise that I got a text message and a phone call on Monday afternoon. I literally hadn't heard anything about it."

Cook added that he would "extremely surprised" if Anderson was banned and said: "In my eyes he has never gone over the top on the field. He's an aggressive bowler who uses a bit of verbal to get him going and to make batting as uncomfortable as possible.

"Jimmy might have had one or two little minor incidents but on the whole he has been fantastic and I like to see that competitive edge."

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni dismissed the suggestion that the complaints against Anderson had been tactical and said: "You can be aggressive, you can be vocal, but there are certain guidelines and we should be following them."

The pitch for the first Test at Trent Bridge was criticised for being too slow and unhelpful to the bowlers, with only 29 wickets falling in the five days and England's Anderson and Joe Root setting a new world 10th-wicket record with a partnership of 198.

Asked for his early impressions of the Lord's wicket Cook said: "It looks a good wicket now, it has a nice cover of grass on but 24 hours out from last month's Sri Lanka game, it looked very similar and that turned out to be pretty flat.

"We're hoping for a pitch that has a bit more bounce so we can have a bit more exciting cricket than what Trent Bridge produced."


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