England v India: James Anderson misconduct claims 'a tactic' - Cook

England captain Alastair Cook says India's claim that James Anderson abused and pushed Ravindra Jadeja is designed to unsettle the bowler.

Anderson, 31, has been charged with misconduct following the alleged incident during the drawn first Test.

"It's probably a bit of a tactic by India," Cook said. "We are surprised, but we can't let it be a distraction."

Jadeja, 25, has also been charged with an offence under the International Cricket Council's code of conduct.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has sent a level two counter-allegation against Jadeja to the ICC.

A level two offence carries a fine of 50-100% of the player's match fee and/or a potential ban of one Test or two one-day internationals.

Anderson is clear to play in the second Test at Lord's as his case will not be heard before the match begins on Thursday.

However, he faces a potential four-Test ban when he becomes the first England cricketer to go before an ICC judicial commission for his level three charge.

Asked if he thought India were trying to get Anderson banned, Cook said: "I think so. I think that's pretty much where it's come from."

An ECB statement said Lancashire's Anderson "categorically denies the accusations".

Anderson took four wickets in the first Test against India at Trent Bridge

Cook said: "No-one knew about it until after the game. It does seem a bit of a surprise that I got a text message and a phone call on Monday afternoon. I literally hadn't heard anything about it."

Cook added he would be "extremely surprised" if Anderson, second in the list of all-time England Test wicket-takers, was banned.

"In my eyes, he has never gone over the top on the field," he said. "He's an aggressive bowler who uses a bit of verbal to get him going and to make batting as uncomfortable as possible.

"Jimmy might have had one or two little minor incidents but, on the whole, he has been fantastic and I like to see that competitive edge."

India captain Mahendra Dhoni dismissed the suggestion the complaint against Anderson had been tactical.

"You can be aggressive, you can be vocal, but there are certain guidelines and we should be following them," he said.

The pitch for the first Test at Trent Bridge was criticised for being too slow and unhelpful to the bowlers.

Only 29 wickets fell in five days as Anderson and England team-mate Joe Root set a new 10th-wicket world record with a partnership of 198.

Asked for his early impressions of the Lord's wicket, Cook said: "It looks good. It has a nice cover of grass on.

"But it looked very similar 24 hours out from last month's Sri Lanka game and turned out to be pretty flat.

"We're hoping for a pitch that has a bit more bounce so we can have a bit more exciting cricket than Trent Bridge produced."