South Africa have said they will not make an official complaint over alleged ball-tampering by England in the third Test in Cape Town.

Footage showed bowler James Anderson appearing to pick at the ball and in a separate incident, Stuart Broad stopped the ball with his foot.

England coach Andy Flower defended Broad after South Africa raised concerns about the ball's condition.

But the hosts opted not to complain formally to referee Roshan Mahanama.

The International Cricket Council confirmed it had received no official complaint from South African team management about any England player.

In addition, the umpires had viewed relevant footage without feeling the need to bring any charges, and the deadline for any action had passed, so the ICC viewed the matter as closed.

South Africa media officer Michael Owen-Smith said: "There have been several queries from the media about various video footage shown, and certain allegations being made about the ball

"We have raised our concerns with the match referee about it and we've left it to him to decide if any further action or investigation is necessary."

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said of Anderson's actions: "I think he's just beyond what is acceptable.

"He's not gauging it. He's just fiddling with the rough side of the ball and I think that's a very dangerous area to get into."

Former England captain Michael Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 live: "It certainly looks like Jimmy Anderson has had some kind of play on the ball."

"If it was Pakistan what would we make of it? It's a very delicate situation."

Asked about Broad's actions, Flower insisted there was no case to answer.

"All that happened is the ball was rolling gently towards him and he stuck out a boot to stop the ball. I don't think it's a big issue," he said.

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"The umpires and match referee haven't approached us. Of course, our door is always open, but they haven't said anything.

"I think over the years we have seen a lot of tall fast bowlers stop balls with their feet, so I don't see anything sinister in it all. I think you are talking about very isolated incidents.

"If you are talking about stopping a ball once with your boot and one throw through a session of 80 overs today I think you are being a little bit pernickety."

England's bowlers struggled on Tuesday's third day of play in Cape Town, as South Africa reached 312-2 at the close, a lead of 300, largely thanks to a record stand of 230 between skipper Graeme Smith (162 not out) and Hashim Amla (95),

Looking ahead to the remaining two days, Flower added: "We've got a lot of fight in that dressing room and they are going to have to show it out in the middle for the next two days.

"The heat is without a doubt a factor, it takes its toll on bowlers and fielders alike but I thought our guys worked very hard, kept their discipline, worked hard in the field to the last ball of the day and we're going to have to do that for the next two days."

England's three seam bowlers failed to take a wicket on day three, with both strikes made by spinner Graeme Swann, and the decision to field only four specialist bowlers has come under close scrutiny.

"You will always want to believe your seamers could do more when the opposition is 300-2 so they'll be disappointed not to have made more of an impact," the coach admitted.

Asked whether he regretted the selection policy, Flower said: "I don't like living my life like that. It's the way we've gone into the three Tests so far, sometimes you have to take the rough with the smooth.

"It is a huge challenge because there is such a lot of time left in the game that it is going to take a huge effort from us to save the game.

"We've got the new ball first thing in the morning, we'll attack with that and try to get some wickets, that will follow the trend of the first three days.

"If we can't do that it will be about restricting them then batting very well, and our batsman are going to have to stand up and be very strong over the next two days.

"I wouldn't say it will be impossible but the one thing that's certain is the pitches have constantly surprised even the locals so far in the three Tests.

"We don't know exactly how it's going to deteriorate in the next two days so we will assess conditions as and when they arrive."

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