Steve Smith pours fuel on the post-Ashes drinks drama, silences Ben Stokes’ claim

Australian cricketer Steve Smith has hit back at England as the fallout to the post-Ashes series drinks drama takes another turn.

Steve Smith has weighed in on the post Ashes drama that saw the England squad leave the Aussies hanging in their rooms instead of joining them for a drink at The Oval.

After England clinched a series levelling win in the fifth and final Test, the Australian squad stayed at the ground hoping to share a customary post-series drink with their opponents.

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A source close to the Australian cricket team told foxsports.com.au an opportunity to continue that long tradition never came, much to their disappointment.

England skipper Ben Stokes clarified on Twitter that the two teams had agreed to meet at a nightclub instead.

“To clarify … Our wrap took longer than expected because of multiple last time events,” Stokes tweeted.

“We decided to meet up in the nightclub rather than the dressing room.”

But now Steve Smith has come out and disputed those claims from Stokes and poured fuel on the Ashes drama.

In his interview with SEN Smith said that at one point Stokes said they would join the Aussies in a matter of minutes – only to then keep the visitors waiting for another hour.

It was after this, as the evening dragged on following a long and at times acrimonious Ashes series, that Smith said some teammates had had enough.

Smith shut down Stokes’ claims. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

“We did knock on the door a couple of times. We were waiting around a while and Stokesy came out at one point and said ‘two minutes’ and about an hour passed,” Smith said.

“We thought, ‘we can’t keep sitting here. Are we going to have a beer or not’? The guys got a bit fed up and decided it was time to go.

“It was unfortunate, it was the first time in my career that we’ve not had a drink with them after a series and it was a bit of a shame.

“They caught up with a few of the boys in the nightclub later on that night, I had gone home by that stage, but it was a shame not to have a beer and reflect on what was a pretty cool series.”

No beers for you. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Travis Head confirmed the Aussies had become “a bit fed up” before they opted to depart the stadium at around 10:45pm.

Speaking on the Willow Talk podcast, Head confirmed England had not purposely avoided the post-Ashes drinks, but their speeches ran significantly longer than they were told they would.

He also said the two parties meeting up at a London nightclub wasn’t “by design” either.

“In terms of it, it’s been played up a little bit,” Head said.

“Post-match, I think we hung around for a little bit. They had a couple of retirements, and, I think, a few staff that was going. We sort of knocked a couple of times and got told two minutes, which turned into an hour, and the boys got a bit fed up.

“But yeah, a few of the boys met up with them afterwards, and I’ve been in contact with a couple of the guys that I was close with about the differences in the timings. A bit disappointing, but I don’t think it was by design.

“We didn’t go there together (the nightclub). It’s just by design again that both teams found themselves at the same place. I think it was a Monday night, but there are not many places to go on a Monday night in London, so we found ourselves at the same place … shared one or two vodka Red Bulls together and then off to the flight.”

Sick of waiting. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Head later said that a few of the England players that he was closer with played up the drama, with the Australian also “chirping” back.

“There was a few boys that I know, [like] Ben Duckett was sort of chirping me a little bit about us dogging them and I chirped in a little bit about them dogging us, so all in good spirits,” added Head.

“Like I said, I think it was all a bit laughed off from us, and then the media played it up a little bit. It wasn’t meant to be, but those things happen.”

Head’s account of events was consistent with that of England opener Zak Crawley, who said earlier in the month that retirement speeches delayed the process.