Ashes 2017-18: 6 Controversies from the marquee series Down Under

The conclusion of yet another Ashes series Down Under where hosts Australia dominated and decimated England has given us many memories - Steven Smith's dogged knock at Brisbane and his double at Perth; the Marsh brothers - Shaun and Mitchell - scoring centuries in the same innings at Sydney, among others - but there can rarely be an Ashes where controversy takes the back seat.

In the 2017-18 series, there were 6 such incidents which sparked a debate with social media especially taken by storm. Here are those controversial occurrences from the series.

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#6 Moeen Ali stumping at Brisbane

England were already down and struggling in the first Test of the tour before a debatable umpiring decision pushed them further back. After being 26 behind in the first innings courtesy of a stubborn unbeaten century from Steven Smith, they were at a dicey position of 74/4 and then 113/5. All-rounder Moeen Ali, batting at number six, arrived following a low score and a decent outing with the ball in the first innings.

He counter-attacked for England, trying to disrupt the bowlers' length, and especially targeting Nathan Lyon. Quickly, Moeen had moved over to 40 off 63 balls with six fours as England were 129 ahead. But then arrived the controversy: the ball turned well, Moeen missed it and wicket-keeper Tim Paine quickly removed the bails.

Moeen's foot appeared to be on the line, which itself seemed to be unevenly drawn. Third umpire Chris Gaffaney deliberated for long before finally deciding to send the Englishman back and triggering a lengthy argument.

#5 Jonny Bairstow “headbutts” Cameron Bancroft

Cameron Bancroft said he "expected a handshake or a hug, not a headbutt" from Jonny Bairstow

During the first day of the series itself, reports from the Australian media emerged that England's Jonny Bairstow had greeted Australian debutant Cameron Bancroft with a “headbutt” in a bar in Perth. The incident happened after Bancroft's domestic side Western Australia were celebrating a victory there when the England team arrived to have a few drinks just hours after landing in Australia.

As some members of both the teams knew each other already, there was a friendly meeting between the players, in which Bairstow greeted Bancroft with a sideways headbutt.

"It was really weird and random. I expected a handshake or a hug, not a headbutt,” Bancroft said in his first press conference as an international cricketer after Australia trumped England by 10 wickets in Brisbane. Just a month before England's arrival, there was the Ben Stokes brawl that the ECB had to deal with, and just a day into the series, Bairstow further raised some eyebrows.

#4 Ben Duckett pours a drink over James Anderson

Ben Duckett, in Australia with the England Lions squad, was suspended from the rest of the tour for pouring a drink over James Anderson

As if the Jonny Bairstow “headbutt” and England's losses in the first two Tests were not enough, there came another heated controversy into the open when Ben Duckett, in Australia with the England Lions squad, was alleged to have poured a drink over England's vice-captain on the Ashes tour, James Anderson.

That led to an elimination for Duckett from the England XI to take on a Cricket Australia XI in a warm-up game before the third Test in Perth; thereafter, Duckett was suspended from the rest of the tour and sent back home with an official written warning related to bad conduct.

“They've gone into the world of what students do with big trays of shots,” former captain Michael Vaughan described the behaviour of England's cricketers. The Ashes-winning captain went as far as to say, "I agree with Trevor Bayliss [the England coach]. If he feels he's got to get rid of a few people, that's what he's got to do."

#3 Mark Stoneman caught behind at Perth

Mark Stoneman was repeatedly peppered with short balls and bouncers before eventually falling to a DRS decision

Yet another questionable decision in the modern days of the DRS took place with opener Mark Stoneman. Having lost the first two Tests, England were desperate to stay alive in the third game at Perth. They won the toss, batted first and Stoneman got a crucial fifty after both Alastair Cook and Joe Root failed to deliver.

Stoneman was repeatedly attacked with short balls and bouncers from the trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins – one of the bouncers from Hazlewood even broke the earpiece of his helmet with the smacked head requiring the attention of the physio – and soon arrived the inevitable.

Starc pitched one short on off stump, Stoneman fumbled and the ball, seemingly kissing his glove, flew into the gloves of Tim Paine. Umpire Marais Erasmus gave it not out, Australia referred and had their way. Unsatisfied with the third umpire Aleem Dar's decision, England queried the matter with the match referee Richie Richardson.

#2 Usman Khawaja catch of Stuart Broad at Melbourne

While one angle showed Usman Khawaja to have tumbled the ball to the ground, the third umpire stood with the on-field decision of "out"

The series was decided and Australia had posted 327 batting first in the fourth Test at Melbourne. In response, the entire English batting revolved around veteran opener, Alastair Cook. In a total of 491, Cook carried his bat with 244 as the next highest score remained Joe Root's 61. For a change, Stuart Broad stepped up with the bat and contributed a quick fifty to the total.

In a knock featuring 8 fours and a six, Broad slashed hard at a fairly wide delivery pitched just outside off stump from Pat Cummins. Usman Khawaja sprinted from the third man to grab at a low chance but seemed unsure himself if the catch was clear or not. The soft signal from the on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena was out, thus meaning that his TV colleague required substantial conclusive evidence to overturn the decision.

But despite replaying the catch from various angles – one of them even indicated the ball might have touched the ground – the third umpire stuck with “out”, igniting a debate post the verdict.

#1 Mason Crane “no-ball” wicket of Usman Khawaja at Sydney

Whether Mason Crane had over-stepped or not remained debatable after he trapped Usman Khawaja lbw at Sydney

Like three of his current generation compatriots – Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Tom Curran – debutant leg-spinner Mason Crane, brought in for the final Test at Sydney, got his maiden Test wicket off a no-ball! Usman Khawaja, after a dry series, was going great guns on 132 when Crane trapped him in front after the batsman offered no shot. Joe Root chose to review immediately, as Crane looked confident – and appealed even more confidently – but the umpire remained unmoved.

The front foot, the first thing to be checked on replay, was found to have landed just outside the line. It was a close call, but third umpire Sundaram Ravi ruled in favour of Khawaja, sparking an argument if the former was too stern on the bowler. When ball tracking was used to check if Khawaja would have been otherwise out, it was found that indeed the ball would have crashed into his off stump as he had put forward his pad with the bat hidden behind.