Monday 1 January 2018 06:14, UK
James Anderson has hit back at the "ridiculous" ball-tampering claims directed at him from the Australian press during the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne.
Anderson was accused of illegally altering the condition of the ball after television images showed the England bowler using his thumb to clear dirt from the seam.
England coach Trevor Bayliss dismissed the allegations as "beat up" stories and "pommie bashing" from the Australian press and Anderson insists there is was no case to answer.
Recalling the reaction to the incident, Anderson said: "It escalated quite quickly, didn't it? Ridiculous but what we've come to expect, crazy really.
England failed to capitalise on a promising position in the fourth Test as Steve Smith stifled the visitors to a draw on a lifeless pitch at the MCG.
The tourists trail the five-match series 3-0 ahead of the final Test in Sydney, which gets underway on January 4.
Anderson is determined to help his side claim a victory and some comfort in the closing match of the series after an otherwise disappointing campaign.
"It's a horrible situation, because we thought we had a good chance of winning this series," said the 35-year-old, who ended the year as the No 1 ranked bowler in Test cricket.
"Obviously it's not turned out that way but we'll just keep working hard and try to have one last push [and] get a result in Sydney.
"We've got a really strong group, a strong core of players, good management as well but it's just not worked.
"I'd feel disappointed for this group if we didn't get a win on this trip, because we've worked so hard.
"I think you've got to have a thick skin, definitely - you've got to try to block [the critics] out. [You can't] start worrying about ex-players or whoever, whether they are opposition ex-players or even English ex-players.
"We know as a group how well we are doing as a team - or not well. I think that's the most important thing - what we think."
