Andrew Strauss has said that he hopes others will follow India's example after the side withdrew their appeal for the controversial wicket of Ian Bell at Trent Bridge.

The 29-year-old batsman thought England had scored a boundary on the last ball before tea and left his crease, allowing India to remove the bails and appeal.

"When it first happened there was a lot of confusion," Strauss said. "Myself and Andy [Flower] went down to the umpire's room as we just wanted to clarify the situation. We asked India to reconsider their appeal and then left it at that.

"It was very commendable that they changed their mind. It's one of those circumstances where there are always shades of grey but I think it was good for the game of cricket.

"In years to come it will be looked back upon as a step in the right direction for the game and hopefully other people will follow those decisions."

England lead the series 2-0 and need one more win to overtake India at the top of the Test rankings.