Reflecting on his infamous altercation with India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, England pace spearhead James Anderson said the matter that brought a great deal of stress to him "went too far" and could have been dealt with on the day of the incident itself.
"I felt it went too far – the whole process was too much," Anderson was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
- All you want to know about Anderson-Jadeja altercation...
"It could have been dealt with on the day, it could have been dealt with after the game but unfortunately it turned into a long, drawn out process but thankfully common sense prevailed in the end," he said.
India had claimed that Anderson shoved Jadeja without provocation inside the pavillion during the first Test at Trent Bridge in July. However on August 1, both Anderson and Jadeja were not found guilty of breaching the ICC code of conduct and cleared for the fourth Test.
The veteran of 380 Test and 257 ODI wickets described the controversial episode as one of the most stressful periods of his successful career.
"It was probably one of the most stressful periods that I've been through whilst I've been in the England team.
"It was constantly there – whether it was talking to solicitors, whether it was 'we've got meetings here', whatever it was, it was a constant thing.
"I just wanted it to go away so I could concentrate on the cricket. But I thought that everyone dealt with it brilliantly. The ECB were great; they backed me all the way and I'm very grateful for that," explained the 32-year-old.
Anderson spoke at length about what he thought of the incident, justifying his behaviour in a way.
"I was just having a chat off the field. When we're on the field out in the middle, the umpires are there to oversee that – if they think we overstep the mark they step in and take over; if it's serious enough they'll report it to the match referee and it gets dealt with like that.
"It's something I've always been aware of. I feel like I need to be aggressive on the field because I'm not a big presence on the field, like Chris Tremlett or Stuart Broad; being aggressive has helped me do my job for the team.
"But I'm very aware of the boundaries and of overstepping the mark – and if I've ever been close the umpires are straight on it; there are stump microphones there. I'm very aware of everything there and I don't overstep the mark," he added.
