Ben Stokes breaks silence on reports stating England refused post-Ashes beer with Australia

However, the series wasn’t without its fair share of controversy on the pitch and behind the scenes, with the fiery nature of the rivalry coming through in clashes throughout the series. Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, there was an undertone of that carried into the post-series celebrations as well, forcing England captain Ben Stokes to take to social media to clear the air, after miscommunication and confusion meant the two teams didn’t meet in the locker rooms of the Oval post-match.

Australia-based journalist Bharat Sundaresan reported via his Twitter account: “Didn’t look like the Australian and English teams had their customary post-series drinks tonight at The Oval. Did notice the Aussies hanging around for quite a while waiting & Steve Smith even peering into the English rooms a couple of times before giving up.”

Fuel would be added to the fire as Sundaresan later wrote: “Now hearing that the Aussie players did ask the England team about getting together half a dozen times but didn’t get a response and that allegedly the home team stayed behind locked doors.”