Anderson-Jadeja spat: Witnesses were hopelessly biased, says investigating official

He considered downgrading Anderson's charge from a Level 3 offence — with the threat of a four-match ban — to a Level 2 and then a Level 1 offence but was unwilling to uphold any charge on the evidence available and suggested the ICC's Code of Conduct contained a ‘number of inadequacies'.

He added that a tribunal should not ‘guess to achieve an outcome,' as quoted in his report on the ESPN Cricinfo website.

‘In short I do not know on the evidence, and to the relevant standard of proof, what happened in the corridor leading to the stairway in those few seconds after the batsmen and fielding side came in for lunch.

‘I cannot be comfortably satisfied as to the truth of either version of the evidence.'