SMITH REJECTS BALL TAMPERING

SYDNEY: Australia skipper laughs off claims, clarifies it was all saliva he was applying on ball.

Australian captain Steve Smith has shot down suggestions of ball-tampering after video of him using saliva from the corner of mouth during Sunday's ODI loss to England raised eyebrows.

Smith laughed off the reaction, after watching a replay of the video, saying it was his standard technique for helping shine the white ball with no assistance from any foreign substance.

''It was all spit.'' People said something about lip balm. If you look at my lips they are pretty dry. I certainly didn't have any of that on,'' he told reporters Sunday.

''It is just the way i get the spit into the side of my mouth and get some spit onto the ball. There was nothing in it.''

England last month blasted ball-tampering allegations against them as a ''beat up'' after footage of England bowler James Anderson working the ball with his thumbnail drew suspicions during their  Ashes test match in Melbourne.

England coach Trevor Bayliss slammed the accusations after former Australian players Shane Warne and Michael Slater suggested it was not allowed.

''It's a beat up. As soon as I saw the headlines I raced into the umpires and that was their words : Nothing to worry about, it was a beat-up absolutely fine,'' Bayliss said at the time.

England sealed the five match ODI series in in Sydney Sunday when a stunning century from   Jos Butler  helped the visitors to a unbeatbable 3-0 lead -a remarkable turnaround after Australia had trounced them 4-0 in the Ashes tests.