Ace pacer James Anderson has targeted his critics after being in headlines for ball tampering during the Melbourne Test against Australia. He said it was ridiculous to put such blames on him despite not knowing the incident.

Anderson was seen nailing his thumbnail in the seam of the red ball and Australian commentators were very quick in claiming it as ball tampering.

“It escalated quite quickly, didn’t it? Ridiculous, but what we’ve come to expect. (I was) getting dirt off the ball. They’d watered the square so the footholes on the old wickets had mud. We went to the umpires to make sure they were happy with it,” said Anderson.

Talking about team’s performance in the ongoing Ashes series, he looked very optimistic despite giving away the urn. Australia regained the Ashes after winning first three Test in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth respectively.

Talking to The Telegraph, he added “We have played well at times in all four tests. It would be nice if we can carry that on and have one last push at Sydney and try to get a win. It would mean a lot to the lads and all the English support we’ve had over here. You see them just non-stop and it means a lot to us that sort of support.”

The final game of the series will undergo from January 4 at traditional Sydney.