Still, there are some selection questions to ponder ahead the World Test Championship final against South Africa, in June, an away Test series against the West Indies and next summer’s home Ashes.

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Has Marnus done enough?

No he has not, but there is plenty of cricket between now and June. He will have the chance to make white ball runs in the Champions Trophy, while Cameron Green has spoken about coming back to play as a batter only before the end of the Sheffield Shield season. Green has also secured a county deal to play in England before the WTC.

“I think it’s clear that we’ve got some players that have put their hand up so there is a squeeze,” McDonald said. “That’s well documented. Cameron Green is going to play some county cricket, I think has been put to press. He’ll be back in the mix, Josh Inglis was a spare batter in Australia, we feel like he can go across all conditions.

“That’s legitimate that there will be a squeeze and whoever misses out will be very unlucky. It’s no different from the bowling space. Scott Boland is entitled to think that he should start in every Test match. It’s a really good problem to have. May it long continue, to put tough decisions on the selection panel.”

Smith a series by series proposition, says coach

At 35, Smith is playing for Australia on what is more or less a series by series basis. But his recent return to something like his best should encourage Smith and the selectors to believe that arrangement can last for some time yet. Nevertheless, retirement at the end of next year’s SCG Ashes Test, possibly alongside Usman Khawaja, is a distinct possibility.

“He’s coming into another sweet spot in his career. Hopefully that sort of form, he doesn’t want to give up on that too soon,” McDonald said of Smith. “He plays every series and assesses where he’s at at the end of it.

“When you’re at that age and you’ve accomplished so much in your career, you’re entitled to be able to do that. The day that he goes, it’ll be a big hole. When that comes, we’re not sure at this stage. As a coach I’d love to have him for as long as possible.”

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What about the spinners?

In Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon has found his ideal spin ally in south Asia. The pair dovetailed beautifully in Galle, and Kuhnemann showed that his move from Queensland to Tasmania for greater match bowling opportunities has definitely added maturity and consistency to his game.

Lyon will be the number one option in all conditions so long as he stays fit and available, and his ambitions to keep going well into 2027 make life tricky for Todd Murphy, who only played the first Test here before he was dropped.

Did the selectors get Konstas call right?

In terms of winning the series, yes, because Travis Head and Josh Inglis both played important innings to get the Australians on their way in the first Test.

But the wisdom or otherwise of leaving out Konstas will become clear over the longer term – if he flounders in India in 2027, for example, the selectors may wish they had given him more opportunities in Galle. That said, there will likely be an Australia A tour of India later this year, and West Indies pitches are also known to take turn.

Is Webster now the No.1 all-rounder?

The great thing about Webster’s first three Tests is that he has shown himself to be useful in a vast variety of conditions and situations. He has made sensible runs under pressure, caught superbly in the field and taken wickets with both seam and spin. His emergence is valuable for the selectors given Mitchell Marsh’s uncertain future, and also provides the option of playing both Webster and Green in the same side, affording Pat Cummins a dizzying array of bowling to choose from.