JAMES ANDERSON said yesterday that the incident that saw England Lions batsman Ben Duckett pour a drink over the bowler’s head was “blown out of proportion.”

Duckett was suspended from the remainder of the Lions tour after his prank on England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, which took place at the same bar in Perth where Jonny Bairstow delivered his “head-butt” greeting for Australia opener Cameron Bancroft.

Both incidents have occurred during an Ashes tour that sees England trail 2-0 with three Tests to play, and less than three months after vice-captain Ben Stokes was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm outside a Bristol nightclub.