Flem’s Verdict: Stokes’ spirit of cricket goes out the window over catch while ICC needs to sort out ludicrous ball-swap farce

If you asked me a couple of months ago if I’d take winning the World Test Championship final and retaining the Ashes, I would have taken it and so would the Aussie players.

There’s still a bit of a disappointment that they didn’t win the actual series against England but one thing is for certain – the Ashes rivalry is alive again.

The Poms have certainly closed the gap from the previous time we played them in Australia, even though Stuart Broad reckons that one didn’t count. We’re still chalking that up as a thrashing. 

The 2-2 result sets up an eagerly anticipated contest in a couple of years time when both teams will have a fair few new faces.

England are claiming a moral victory but I’m a traditionalist and I go by what the scoreboard says. 

They can have the Moral Ashes, we will have the Actual Ashes. Do they have an urn in the Moral Ashes or do they have a little heart trophy?