What Cummins said: “I think both teams spoke a lot about playing your own style before the game. And I think it’s just one of the beauties of this series. Totally contrasting styles. I think we both play to our strengths. And you don’t necessarily know which style is better, but that makes for good entertainment.”

3) Lahore 2022

Not so much a five-day victory as a 15-day triumph. In the first series after Justin Langer’s resignation as coach and in Australia’s first visit to Pakistan since 1998, Cummins recognised the right moments to attack. In the first innings this was with devilish reverse swing, in the second a combination of speed and the spin of Lyon. Since then, Pakistan’s flakiness has allowed numerous overseas teams to win on their home soil. But for Australia to even travel to Pakistan, to win, and to do it with so much presence of mind to outlast the hosts, was a significant marker for what was to come.

What Cummins said: “We knew we’d bide our time and the way we applied ourselves today … everyone was up for it. The really great thing about this squad is we played really well in the Ashes and we’ve proven each individual’s game can be transferred to anywhere in the world. Really happy with everyone. We didn’t really know what to expect coming over here, but it’s been an amazing experience for our whole group.”

4) Indore 2023

This was Australia’s win for Cummins while playing without him. Steve Smith took the reins and Lyon put on arguably the finest display of his career to outbowl Ashwin and Jadeja on a pitch and at a ground literally made to order for India – the match had been moved from pace friendlier Dharamasala. The surface was treacherous, but there were numerous key contributors: Matt Kuhnemann’s left-arm spin, runs for Usman Khawaja and Travis Head, and Smith’s stupendous catch at leg slip to get rid of Cheteshwar Pujara. Secured qualification for the 2023 Test championship final.

What Smith said: “For the guys to be able to regroup, trust themselves with what they are trying to do and just try to do it for longer, it’s something we’ve spoken about, and the way we did it this week was really pleasing. It’s about taking the result out of play, having faith in our methods for long enough. We are good enough players to get the results we are after more often than not.”

5) Christchurch 2024

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New Zealand’s seam bowlers, particularly Matt Henry, provided a huge challenge for an Australian team that had staggered somewhat through the home summer after the 2023 ODI World Cup win. Cameron Green had set up a big win in Wellington, but this time the tourists had to come from behind through the brute force of Mitchell Marsh and the revived confidence of Alex Carey. Two of the more popular members of the team duly conjured a rousing chase of 279, from 4-34 then 5-80, points at which the Black Caps had been hot favourites to square the series.

What Cummins said: “At times I don’t think we’ve played our best cricket and still found a way to win. In a couple of previous summers we’ve blown teams out of the water. This summer wasn’t the case, but at the key moment someone stood up.”

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