Two months after the epic 2023 Ashes series came to an end, the comments and controversies are still rolling in. The latest chapter comes from Australia’s side of the story.

Speaking to ABC Sport, several Australian players recounted an incident on the final day of the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval, when Steve Smith gloved a ball to backward short leg, where Ben Stokes had positioned himself.

Stokes leapt and grabbed the ball with his right hand but on the way down, his hand bumped into the side of his thigh and he dropped the ball just as he was about to celebrate.

The umpire ruled it not out on the field. However, Stokes went upstairs to review the decision. The TV umpire upheld the on-field call, following which Stokes had a lengthy chat with the on-field umpires, seemingly questioning the decision.

The 2023 Ashes had many incidents which triggered discussions of the Spirit of Cricket. This incident raised the issue once again, with Australian players and media criticising Stokes for going for the review. Smith, who was the batter in question, echoed similar sentiments while speaking to ABC Sport.

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“When Stokesy tried to catch the ball and threw it onto the deck, looking at him and watching his body language, he knew that it was not out,” said Smith. “It was an interesting choice to go upstairs because I’m pretty sure he knew that he’d thrown the ball away.”

Smith was seen in conversation with the England players after the dropped catch. Travis Head, who was at the other end during that incident, revealed what Smith told the English players. “Steve had some choice words at the time, which is when you can see him pointing there saying, questioning whether that’s the grey area of the Spirit of Cricket again,” said Head.

“I just said, ‘Here’s your Spirit of Cricket chance’,” Smith added.

Usman Khawaja also commented on the incident, saying, “It’s a fickle line, the Spirit of Cricket, isn’t it?”

Cameron Green joined in on the conversation, calling Stokes’ actions hypocritical with respect to the Spirit of Cricket. “They kind of speak about, yeah, being within the spirit of the game and I’m not sure if that (Stokes’ dropped catch) is so. A bit hypocritical, I’d say,” said Green.

Smith was dismissed a few overs later off the bowling of Chris Woakes for 54. England then cleaned up the second half of the Australian batting order cheaply, bowling them out for 334 and winning the game by 49 runs to level the series 2-2.