Ball tampering in Ashes? England under the scanner at MCG

England's bowling effort on day four of the ongoing fourth Ashes Test may have some explaining to do after the cameras caught James Anderson allegedly using his fingernail on the quarter seam of the ball.

Joe Root with umpire Kumar Dharmasena on day four of the MCG Test (Photo: Twitter)

New Delhi: Trying to win some consolation points having already lost the Ashes, England batted themselves into a good position in the fourth Test at MCG, but the visitors' bowling effort on day four may have some explaining to do after the cameras caught senior paceman James Anderson allegedly using his fingernail on the quarter seam of the ball. 

Australia won the first three Tests to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series and are now fighting to enforce a draw after conceding a 164-run lead in the first innings. 

Watching Anderson allegedly picking on the seam of the ball, former Australian cricketers in the commentary box immediately expressed their concern over the legality of fast bowler's actions. Soon umpire Kumar Dharmasena was seen speaking to England captain  Joe Root. 

“I’m not sure you are allowed to use your fingernail there,” Shane Warne spoke on commentary for Nine’s Wide World of Sports. 

“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. This (Anderson's action) might get some people talking,” the leg-spin legend added.

“It didn’t look great, to be honest," Mike Hussey, also in the commentary team, said. "There might be a little bit of a ‘please explain’ there for Jimmy Anderson. I know there’s a lot of tactics, but there’s a bit of a line there that you shouldn’t cross in picking the seam of the ball and things like that. 

"The English have been throwing the ball into the ground to try and scuff one side up, but that’s nothing the Aussies weren’t doing either and the umpires are generally on top of that pretty quickly.”

Former Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson posted his views on Twitter seeing the ball reverse -swinging rather quickly. 

Ball reversing under 10 overs #ashes

— Mitchell Johnson (@MitchJohnson398) December 29, 2017

Former England captain Alastair Cook scored an unbeaten record double hundred to guide his team to 491 after Australiás 327 in the first innings. 

Australia lost two quick wickets on Friday before Steve Smith and David Warner repaired the loss with a much-needed partnership and rain came down to force early stumps in the final session, with the hosts 103/2.