With Warner making his bow from the team at the end of the SCG Test,the selection panel now chaired by George Bailey will need a different formula for India’s visit. To stick with the same batting order would be one option.

Marcus Harris waits in the wings as the most obvious opening candidate,having served as the team’s backup top order player everywhere but South Asia. But he is both older and an inferior domestic performer to Cameron Green,the young allrounder who lost his place to Mitchell Marsh during the Ashes.

Marsh has been the most consistent Australian batter this series - he again passed 50 on day three at the SCG. After Hazlewood scythed through Pakistan’s middle order in the final half hour that should still be enough to secure victory in four days.

The final session,in which 11 wickets fell for just 78 runs,was testament to the way the pitch’s change in character had sped up the match. The avalanche offered rich entertainment for a crowd of 37,129,meaning a total of 101,072 spectators had filed through the SCG gates in just three days.

But the best top order balance for those spectators to watch against India may well be that offered up by Shane Watson. He has spoken publicly this week about the possibility of giving Smith a fresh challenge by promoting him to open alongside Khawaja.

That move would allow for the return of Green to the team at four,the sort of position he is more than likely to claim anyway whenever Smith finishes. Moreover,it would help smooth the evolution of the team from the generation of Warner and Smith to that of Head and Labuschagne.

Strengthening the selectors’ case against Jones was the fact he had failed to have an impact on either of the previous two home Test series against India and England. And it is not as though Smith and Labuschagne flourished against India here in 2020-21. On the contrary,their inability to make big scores early in the series gave the team coached by Ravi Shastri a chance.

“All options will be considered,” coach Andrew McDonald has said. “We’re not going to make the decision until the deadline,which would be the West Indies game. But Cameron Green,as a discussion around who are the best six batters,would definitely be in the discussion.”

Unlike 1992,Warner’s retirement decision means that the selectors do not need to drop anyone in order to freshen up their batting. In Green,they also have a young player every bit as promising as Martyn was.

And as Sean Connery’s captain Ramius quipped at the end ofThe Hunt for Red October,“A little revolution now and then is a healthy thing,don’t you think?”

News,results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday.Sign up for our Sport newsletter.