August 1st 2023.
The tourists thought they had been brushed off after the fifth Test at the Oval, but England captain Ben Stokes has come out to deny the claims that they deliberately snubbed the traditional post-Ashes drinks with Australia. He claims the two teams met up later in the evening at a nightclub.
England had an amazing day of cricket at the Oval on Monday as they leveled the five-match series at 2-2 with Stuart Broad's winning wicket. Although the series ended in a draw and Australia retained the urn, the hosts can claim a moral victory of sorts. The Ashes was not without controversy, specifically the stumping of Jonny Bairstow at Lord's, which prompted England head coach Brendon McCullum to say he did not think his side would be 'having a beer any time soon' with their opposite numbers.
When the two teams did not share their usual post-series drinks at the Oval, Australia's players and staff briefly thought England had followed through on that threat. Reports in the Australian media said players, including Steve Smith, were seen peering into the England dressing room but were locked out. The squad eventually left the Oval at around 10.45pm, four hours after play had finished.
Stokes has now clarified the situation. He tweeted in the early hours of Monday morning that the wrap took longer than expected due to multiple last-time events, so they decided to meet up in the nightclub rather than the dressing room. It seemed as though tensions had finally eased between the two sides, especially after Australia praised their opponents, and the retiring Broad, following their loss on Monday.
But the Ashes still had one last controversy in store. Australia was unhappy with a ball change that seemed to gift England a shinier Dukes ball, which prompted a flurry of wickets at the start of day five. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting called for an investigation into the 'huge blunder' while Usman Khawaja was also disappointed, saying as soon as the ball was changed, the first over, he knew it was different.
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