the methods and the physical stamina to do rather better. Hazlewood had been part of that campaign on the field and so knew what needed to change. Namely, he had to concentrate on seam and accuracy, not swing out of the hand on a floating length, while also being in the peak of physical condition.

"A blueprint devised to succeed overseas had its culmination in conditions so oddly familiar"

Cummins had been running drinks on that tour, having been called in as a replacement for the injury-enforced retirement of Ryan Harris. He was duly given a glimpse of Ashes combat in England, and was typically attentive to its lessons. When Cummins did return to Tests in India and Bangladesh in 2017, he quickly demonstrated the fact he had added physicalmaturity and unstinting accuracy to his natural pace and trajectory. He was no longer, in the words of one of his many handlers, a "Ferrari engine in a Toyota chassis".

Pattinson toured England as far back as 2012 and 2013, taking from these experiences plenty of knowledge about his own body as much as the prevailing conditions. Ever eager to play for Australia at every opportunity back then, he gradually grew a sense of understanding and self-knowledge that gave him the strength to not only decline that 2017 tour of India that Cummins went on, but also to speak firmly with the coach Justin Langer on this tour about needing to be carefully managed. In doing so, he brought Victorian independence of mind, not infrequently a source of annoyance