Australia fast bowler Brett Lee has made light of the ongoing row over England's use of substititute fieldsmen by insisting the Ashes have been played in the "best possible spirit".
England went 2-1 up in the series with a dramatic three-wicket win at Nottingham's Trent Bridge ground on Sunday.
But the result was partly overshadowed by Australia captain Ricky Ponting's public outburst after being run out by England substitute Gary Pratt.
However Lee, while backing his skipper, insisted: "The cricket has been played in the best spirit possible between two great sides."
Australia have been concerned all summer by what they believe is England's improper use of substitutes in order to rest their fast bowlers.
But with Pratt on the field for Simon Jones, who is now doubtful for next week's fifth and final Test at The Oval with an ankle injury and Ponting reacting on the field, before launching an angry tirade at the England dressing room as he walked back in, the Aussie skipper's timing was off.
His loss of composure saw Ponting fined 75 percent of his match fee but he may yet feel it was a price worth paying if referee Ranjan Madugalle orders the umpires to be extra-vigilant in their policing of substitutes in London.
"We are the best of mates off the field but we are playing Test cricket, it is country versus country and with these kind of huge battles there is always going to be that tension," Lee added.
"We follow Ricky as our leader and he obviously didn't agree with what was happening out there with the substitute fielder.
"We always try to play within the spirit of cricket, as fairly as possible, so that is why we will always back Ricky up.
"There have been a few comments about what is going on but we know, within the spirit of cricket, a player can go off the field if he is injured and sometimes a bowler needs to go off if he wants a change of boots. "None of that is up to us, though, we need to worry about what we are physically doing not about what other teams are doing."
Australia have alleged that England are using the current eight-minute allowance for players to be off the field, for warming their bowlers up with massages before they turn their rams over and cooling them dowm when their spells are finished.
But Glamorgan paceman Jones, who is having sessions in an oxygen chamber in a bid to speed up his recovery process, said: "I proved I had an injury but for them to accuse any of us of resting up is a load of rubbish.
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