It was hardly a vintage Ashes series, but there was still much to celebrate – and plenty to poke fun at – over the past six weeks. Here’s our best and worst from a series that was massively hyped before proving to be yet another home Ashes where Australia laid waste to England.

The best ball: Will Jacks’ expansive off-break to spin through Steve Smith in Sydney was a very late entry here, and Nathan Lyon ripped something similarly wonderful past Ben Stokes in Adelaide, but for sheer unplayability it is impossible to go past the seaming viper that Brydon Carse got past Travis Head in the second innings in Melbourne. That one did so much that Head could only laugh.

Worst shot: There are quite a few contenders here, from Jamie Smith’s two brain fades in Adelaide and Sydney to Harry Brook’s flailing bat in the second innings in Perth and the first in Brisbane. Cameron Green also had a contender at the Gabba when he backed away so far from Carse, expecting a bouncer, that he could barely reach a full ball. Jacks gets the award here, however, for a heedless second-ball swipe at Beau Webster in Sydney when Jacob Bethell was cruising at the other end. As Ricky Ponting put it on Seven: “Will Jacks, how do you walk back into that dressing room?”

Best catch: While Marnus Labuschagne had several contenders alongside Alex Carey, this garland has to go to Steve Smith for his wonderful diving effort at a wide slip to break the Ben Stokes/Jacks partnership in Brisbane. Australia were desperate for a wicket at that stage, and Smith reacted with full alertness........

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