Australia put England to the sword during their Ashes tour – gaining an unassailable 3-0 lead in Perth and punishing them in Sydney to wind up 4-0 winners.
Here, Press Association Sport takes a look back at a timeline of England’s forgettable campaign.
September 22: England suffer an injury blow before even announcing the Ashes squad when Middlesex paceman Toby Roland-Jones is ruled out with a stress fracture to his back.
September 26: It emerges all-rounder Ben Stokes had been arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and released under investigation without charge after an incident in Bristol following celebrations from the one-day international against West Indies. Batsman Alex Hales is also helping assist police with their enquiries.
September 27: Vice-captain Stokes is included in the Ashes squad, before news later emerges he suffered a minor fracture of a finger on his right hand during the incident in Bristol. Footage published on The Sun newspaper’s website appears to show Stokes throwing punches in a street fight.
September 28: The England and Wales cricket Board announces Stokes and Hales will not be considered for selection for England matches until further notice as investigations by Avon and Somerset Police continue.
Stokes was dropped from the Ashes squad and suspended indefinitely.
September 29: Former glamour model Katie Price speaks out over a video which appears to show England all-rounder Stokes mocking her disabled son Harvey, while England captain Joe Root and bowler Stuart Broad decide not to join Jos Buttler on his weekend stag party in Amsterdam.
October 6: The ECB confirms Stokes will not travel to Australia with the rest of the Ashes squad, while Jonny Bairstow, Liam Plunkett and Jake Ball are given formal written warnings and fined for “unprofessional conduct” following an internal investigation into behaviour within the one-day squad. Seamer Steven Finn, meanwhile, is added to the Ashes touring squad.
October 29: Soon after England arrive Down Under, it emerges Bairstow greeted Australian opener Cameron Bancroft with a ‘bump headbutt’ when they met in a Perth bar.
November 3: The ECB confirms Moeen Ali and Finn will miss the first two warm-up matches because of injury.
November 7: Finn is subsequently ruled out of the Ashes after scans revealed a torn cartilage in his left knee. Uncapped Surrey seamer Tom Curran is called up.
Finn’s Ashes tour was cut short without playing a match.
November 10: England draft in uncapped Lions seamer George Garton as cover for Ball, who has an ankle ligament strain.
November 27: Australia record an emphatic 10-wicket victory to claim the opening Ashes test in Brisbane. The ECB subsequently confirms Bairstow has been talked to over his late-night altercation with Bancroft, who described the introductory gesture as “‘really weird”, but without malice.
Bancroft played down the incident with Bairstow after Australia’s win at Brisbane.
November 28: Pictures emerge on social media of Stokes at Heathrow Airport, as the all-rounder prepares to travel to New Zealand to play for Canterbury Kings.
November 29: An Avon & Somerset Police statement reveals a decision has yet to be made over whether Stokes will face charges in a criminal investigation – a file is passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision on charging over the Bristol incident, with a 27-year-old man suffering a fractured eye socket.
December 4: The ECB announces Hales is available for England selection again after he was no longer being treated as a suspect in relation to the incident in Bristol.
December 6: England lose the inaugural pink-ball Ashes Test in Adelaide by 120 runs, while Stokes and Hales are later provisionally included in the 16-man one-day squad.
The hosts recorded a comfortable victory in Adelaide.
December 9: England Lions opener Ben Duckett is provisionally suspended and faces a disciplinary hearing over an incident in a Perth bar, during which the 23-year-old poured a drink over James Anderson’s head. Coach Trevor Bayliss brands the latest saga “boys being boys… but totally unacceptable.”
December 10: Duckett, suspended from playing for the remainder of the England Lions training camp, is given a final written warning, but will not return home early.
Duckett was suspended for his antics at a Perth bar.
December 18: England’s Ashes hopes are ended following defeat by an innings and 41 runs at the WACA.
December 19: Seamer Craig Overton admits he may not make the Boxing Day Test after suffering a hairline rib fracture.
December 24: Overton’s absence from the England team in Melbourne is confirmed as Tom Curran comes into the side.
Overton was ruled out of the Melbourne Test with his injury.
December 30: England and Australia draw the Melbourne Test, as Alastair Cook scored an unbeaten 244 in the first innings – the first player to carry his bat in a Test match for 20 years.
January 4: Mason Crane makes his Test debut in Sydney – replacing the injured Chris Woakes.
January 8: Australia record emphatic victory by an innings and 123 runs to finish the Ashes series with a 4-0 margin.
Australia steamroll England in the final Test to record a 4-0 Ashes win.
