The Ashes: Smith and Onions deny bat tape 'cheating'

Australia's Steve Smith and England's Graham Onions strongly deny claims that batsmen on both sides are using silicon tape to prevent the detection of edges by the Hot Spot decision review system.

England seamer Onions calls the accusations "outrageous" and believes both teams are playing fairly, while Australia batsman Smith reveals players often add fibreglass tape onto the front and sides of the bat "purely for protection".

Silicon tape on bats could potentially stop the the Hot Spot system from functioning, as it detects friction from whenever the ball hits a bat or pad, with the energy transfer producing heat, which is revealed by infra-red cameras.