Paine took charge of Australia a little less than a year ago, and had to steady the ship in a horrible time for the team, following the sandpaper scandal. A year on, normality is set to return to Australia, with David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft all set to be available for selection again.

Paine can’t wait for them to be back, not just because the squad will be stronger, but because the team can then, once and for all, leave the controversies behind and concentrate on the Ashes.

Cameron Bancroft: 138* and 86

Marcus Harris: 95 and 174

Joe Burns: 60 and 80

Who do you think should open the batting for Australia in the Ashes?https://t.co/oRFtKTlYpQ

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 26, 2019

“We are really looking forward to get those guys back in around our team,” he told Cricbuzz. “When that happens, we can completely sort of start to move forward.

“We are starting to get more depth,” he said. “Bancroft as well scored a lot of runs in his first game back. Marcus Harris has got a 100 and something not out and 90 in the first innings. Kurtis Patterson has scored another hundred, Travis Head is scoring consistent runs and Matthew Wade is scoring consistent runs.

“Suddenly you’ve got a backlog of batters, and 12 months ago, we thought the cupboard was pretty bare.”