Lord's Ground
Kevin Pietersen allegedly spotted one of the groundsmen tampering with the pitch.Reuters

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has issued an apology, after Kevin Pietersen spotted one of the groundsmen allegedly tampering with the Lord's pitch on third day of the second Test match between England and India.

Pietersen, who is working as a commentator for Sky Sports, spotted the groundsman dragging his right foot in line of the stumps while sweeping one side of the pitch, during the lunch interval.

The English cricketer posted the video of groundsman, Shane Doherty, seen dragging his foot, on social networking site Instagram with a caption "UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!". Doherty was also approached by fourth umpire David Millns later.

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The English international, who is been axed from the team, also spoke about the incident on Twitter and in the series of tweets asserted that there is something more to incident.

"I cannot believe what I've just seen from one of the groundstaff," Pietersen tweeted and in subsequent exchange of tweets with his follower, the Delhi Daredevils batsman added that Doherty cannot get away with this incident as "he knew what he was doing".

As the Pietersen's claims become viral MCC issued an apology and tweeted that it was "a genuine, honest mistake, and there was no intent to damage the pitch".

According to reports, the Indian team management is not likely to lodge a complaint regarding this matter. However, the final decision of making a complaint on this incident rests with the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

It is unlikely that any of the teams will be benefited from alleged pitch "doctoring" as Doherty was not wearing spikes or studs during the incident.

This is the second controversy of the series, after English pacers James Anderson and Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are given sanctions for their altercation during the Trent Bridge Test by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Anderson could face a four-match ban for allegedly pushing and abusing Jadeja, while the Indian all-rounder could be suspended for two matches for his involvement in the incident.

Earlier, Trent Bridge groundstaff drew criticism in the first Test for preparing a poor track that resulted in a draw, followed by this incident, which if not more is carelessness from the groundsman.