England cricketer Alastair Cook "accused India of a dirty tricks campaign" by trying to engineer a ban for England cricketer James Anderson, according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. Cook believes that M.S. Dhoni and India have made a "mountain out of a molehill" by lodging a level three charge against Anderson that could see him banned for four matches. Anderson will face a Int'l Cricket Council judicial commission, possibly as early as the middle of next week, "to answer accusations he was involved in a physical confrontation with Ravindra Jadeja in the Trent Bridge pavilion." The incident "has cast a dark shadow" over the start of the second Test at Lord's on Thursday. Cook: "We are surprised it has become the situation it has. It is probably a tactic a little bit from India if we are being honest. We hope if the ball swings during this Test Jimmy will want his cricket to do the talking" (TELEGRAPH, 7/16). In London, Andy Wilson wrote England had issued a statement describing the incident as minor and said that in the light of the allegation, “the ECB has notified the ICC of its intention to lodge code of conduct breaches against Jadeja” for allegedly breaching the code of conduct in the same incident. Cook confirmed that "the counter charge had been levelled against India" (GUARDIAN, 7/16). Also in London, Richard Hobson wrote Cook joked that he was like Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger in that "he did not see the alleged incident himself, but he was happy to stick by Anderson’s account of events." Anderson "will be banned for up to four Tests if he is found guilty, but England may try to stretch the process so that any sanction does not take effect until after the series" (LONDON TIMES, 7/16). In London, Nick Hoult wrote the England players feel that the incident "is being pushed by senior figures within the Indian team, who have complained that England have got away with aggressive behaviour for too long." India is "believed to have listed at least three witnesses, including two of the squad not playing in the match, and one member of the backroom staff." All the England players "have been asked if they saw anything." Three or four have given statements confirming that "they witnessed the incident but that there was no physical confrontation" (TELEGRAPH, 7/16).
