Ricky Ponting had no reason for his ugly altercation with umpire: Jonathan Trott

England batsman Jonathan Trott has said that Australian skipper Ricky Ponting had no reason for his ugly altercation with umpire Aleem Dar.

Trott made an unbeaten 141 alongside half-centuries from Matt Prior (75 not out) and Pietersen (51) to see England reach 444 for a five - a lead of 346.

But Ponting's lengthy verbal spat with the match officials dominated the post-play debate, The Sun reports.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin thought Pietersen had edged behind, leading to a not out verdict by Dar.

The decision was then upheld on review by TV umpire Marais Erasmus, prompting a furious reaction from Ponting, The Sun reports.

Trott believed there was no cause for such a fuss and claims the referral system should be respected.

"I didn't think there was anything there. I don't know if it (Pietersen's bat) came off the pad or not, I'm not quite sure what the noise was. I didn't see much (of Ponting's reaction), I was just chatting to Kev the whole time," Trott said.

"Of course they wanted the decision to go their way, but that's cricket. I think the review system is there to correct mistakes and it's pretty spot-on at the moment," he added.