Near-misses behind them, 'Flawless' Australia look to make Ashes history

Just in case you hadn't noticed, there's been a bit going on in the past few days. But amid all the noise, Australia arrive at Headingley knowing they can secure the Ashes over the next five days.

While they have three chances to get the win that would give them a first series win in England since 2001 (the last time they also led 2-0 in an away Ashes), there would be an added satisfaction in doing so at this ground after what happened in 2019.

On that occasion, Pat Cummins bowled the ball that Ben Stokes carved to the cover boundary. "I've seen it about 1000 times in the last four years," Cummins said with a smile. "I am sure that memory will be brought up quite a bit, just like 2005 was brought up at Edgbaston. But we have well and truly moved past that."

It would be legacy-defining for this Australian Test team following their World Test Championship title a few weeks ago and cement them among the finest sides the country has produced.

Australia's UK mission is at the midway mark and, barring the injury to Nathan Lyon, it could barely have gone better. There is still a chance that will change and the margins so far in the Ashes have been tight - two wickets and 43 runs - but Australia have found a way, in contrast to some near-misses in this country since their last series win, while on the flip side England have missed their opportunities.

It's worth remembering that when Lyon went down at Lord's, Australia only had one of the 20 wickets they would need for victory. England may have given them a helping hand, especially in the first innings, but it was still another impressive show of resilience and adaptability to overcome the loss of such a pivotal player. His absence may yet have a telling impact, but Todd Murphy should not be underestimated.

Much was made about the lack of warm-up matches, with their preparation limited to a handful of training sessions, but it appears to have worked out ideally. They held back Josh Hazlewood from the World Test Championship final and have been able to get the first two Ashes Tests out of him, although three may be a bit much for him.

In hindsight, they could have played Mitchell Starc on a docile Edgbaston surface, but he had a significant impact at Lord's. Scott Boland was superb against India at The Oval and though taken to by England, remains a very fine bowler. The home side, by contrast, are only now able to get their fastest bowler, Mark Wood, onto the park.

On the batting front, they won in Birmingham without contributions from Marnus Labuschagne or Steven Smith, but the latter bounced back at Lord's. David Warner came into the tour under a huge cloud but while the major score has proved elusive, he has provided valuable contributions, especially last week. Usman Khawaja, currently the leading run-scorer in the series, is a player at the top of his game.

Alex Carey's series has been given an added dimension after his stumping of Jonny Bairstow, but he has been outstanding with the gloves and played a crucial innings at Edgbaston.

"I felt our lead-in was excellent for that World Test Championship and hopefully we can reap the rewards now," Cummins said. "Everyone seems to be in a really good position where we've played enough but feel like we are really hitting our straps."

Cummins, himself, has been at the forefront of things; firstly his tactics at Edgbaston came under scrutiny, then he played a match-winning innings and now he has found himself having to defend his decision not to withdraw the appeal against Bairstow. And he's copped a black eye for good measure.

His outward calm, which has been a trait of Cummins throughout his captaincy, has been impressive. As you would expect, he is strongly standing up for his team, but not in an overly combative way that some previous Australian captains may have done.

"The way our team has conducted themselves over the past couple of years has been flawless," he said. "We have been fantastic and I think that showed again at Lord's. The team did nothing wrong, so we're all comfortable.

"We've had an amazing tour so far, there's so much that this group should be really proud of," he added. "I think when we look forward to this game, that will be the message I'll be giving. That's where our thoughts will be placed as opposed to this outside noise that has nothing to do with cricket."

That noise is unlikely to die down and a still angry England are certainly more than capable of pulling a game back, but so far Australia have managed to stay one step ahead. Do it again for the next five days and Cummins will have gone where no Australian men's captain has been in 22 years.