England vs India: James Anderson to Attend Preliminary Hearing Over Jadeja Altercation on Tuesday

England pacer James Anderson will attend a preliminary hearing in London on Tuesday after India had lodged a Level 3 complaint with the International Cricket Council, accusing Anderson of pushing and abusing the all-rounder in the course of the first Test match at Trent Bridge.

If Anderson is found guilty, he could be suspended for four Test matches, which means that England, already trailing 0-1 after the Lord's defeat, will be without the services of their premium fast bowler for the remaining three matches in the series.

The opening Test of the five-match series had ended in a draw,

but an alleged altercation between Jadeja and Anderson had threatened to create bad blood between the two sides.

Following a complaint by Indian team manager Sunil Dev, Anderson was charged under Level 3 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. The incident had taken place on the second day of the Trent Bridge Test, immediately after the players left for lunch.

It was also alleged that the incident was a continuation of a verbal altercation between Anderson and Jadeja as they were walking from the field.

The explosive allegation left the England team fuming with skipper Alastair Cook even going on to question the visitors' tactics over the Anderson charge. Consequently a day after India's complaint, England hit back by filing a countercharge against Jadeja, accusing him of suddenly turning towards Anderson and taking steps towards the pacer in an aggressive and threatening manner.

The Saurashtra all-rounder was charged under a Level 2 offence, which could invite a fine of 50-100 per cent match fee or a one-Test suspension.

The Anderson hearing will be conducted by Judicial Commissioner Gordon Lewis and is expected to be attended by Anderson, his legal representatives and the ICC's Ethics and Regulatory Lawyer.

The hearing will take place via a telephone conference call in which Lewis will address any preliminary issues that need to be resolved prior to setting the hearing date and will also explain the procedure that will be followed at the hearing. The chances of any decisive outcome in the case are highly unlikely, unless the levels of charges are dropped by either side. If the Indians agree to a Level 2 charge instead of Level 3, it could benefit Anderson immensely, almost eliminating his chances of suspension from any of the remaining three Tests.

However, two days before the preliminary hearing, a fresh twist added further spice to the whole incident.

The Indians have questioned the absence of crucial video footage that could have shed light on the alleged altercation Jadeja had with Anderson.

Players from both teams are set to give conflicting statements and India had reportedly requested for footage from the video camera outside the dressing-rooms to be made available. The tourists were told that the cameras were not in operation at the time of the alleged ugly incident.

The England and Wales Cricket Board and Nottinghamshire have also denied tampering with the evidence.