The biggest moments of the Ashes: Captain Pat Cummins, Scott Boland's dream, and Usman Khawaja's twin tons

Maybe he'd pick a different restaurant in Adelaide, or at least sit outside like Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon did, because his status as a COVID-19 close contact was about all that could stop him in his first summer at the helm of the Australian cricket team.

Cummins was thrust into the captaincy role with the opening Test of the summer on the horizon after wicketkeeper Tim Paine was stood down for his part in a sexting scandal.

The 28-year-old's selection as captain went against the grain. No fast bowler had captained Australia on a full-time basis in 144 years of Test cricket.

Wind the clock forward just a little and Cummins has captained Australia to a 4-0 Ashes drubbing of arch-rivals England, topping the leading wicket-taker tally with 21 at an average of 18.

The extra weight on his shoulders has not taken away from his bowling, though a tougher test awaits him in the searing heat of Pakistan.

Rory Burns might still be able to hear the death rattle. If not, then the roar of a crowd or elated paceman Starc bellowing words to the effect of 'f---ing come on".

The England opener's first taste of Test cricket played out like a nightmare, one that would set the tone for the series. As for the Australian quick? It was the perfect way to silence the doubters.

Starc's first ball at the Gabba, to which Burns shuffled towards the off side only to have his leg stump uprooted, was a fitting precursor to a summer of Australian dominance.

The unpredictable Australian fast bowler is among the most devastating in world cricket when he is on song. In five Tests he claimed 19 wickets. Among his victims were Ben Stokes three times and Joe Root twice.

But Starc was only scratching the surface in a series where leather reigned over willow.

Scott Boland pulled on his baggy green with a simple ambition: to make "a little bit of an impact".

The Victorian quick was drafted in to make his Test debut at the MCG in the third Test of the series. A horses for courses selection few imagined could have ended in such fairytale fashion.

Boland did more than tie down an end and pick up the odd scalp. For the second Indigenous man to play Test cricket for Australia, a dream debut could be more fittingly described as dreamtime story.

The 32-year-old ripped through the English order in their second innings offering of just 68, to help Australia secure the urn with an unassailable 3-0 series lead. His spectacular haul of 6-7 made him impossible to overlook for the Johnny Mullagh Medal.

"There was definitely a time when I thought playing for Australia was gone," Boland said.

Yet he finished the series with 18 wickets at a staggering average of 9.55, making a genuine case to be considered a player of the series contender despite playing just three games.

With Cummins, Starc and Boland, Australia now find themselves with an embarrassment of riches. Josh Hazlewood, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser are in the wings.

Usman Khawaja finds it amazing he is yet to play a Test in his country of birth. But now the Australian batsman can dream as a tour of Pakistan in March draws closer.

After two-and-a-half years in the Test wilderness, Khawaja completed a memorable return with scores of 137 and 101 not out in Sydney.

Khawaja's return came at the expense of Travis Head, who missed the fourth match with COVID-19, and he played with style and elegance in his first Test outing since 2019.

Khawaja was then chosen to partner David Warner at the top of the order in Hobart. It leaves Australia with two 35-year-old openers and a double-edged sword. They are the best men for the task at hand, yet could both walk away at a similar time.

One of Australia's most beloved cricketers, Khawaja finished with more runs [255] than every Englishman bar Joe Root despite playing just two matches. His re-emergence offset Steve Smith's return to mortality, highlighted by an average of 30.5 through five games.

Weak-willed. Soft-centred. A team at rock bottom.

England will carry the scars of this tour for some time. Their final 10 wickets fell for 56 runs in Hobart. They lost 10-61 at the MCG, 8-74 in Brisbane and 8-86 in Adelaide.

Perhaps the only glimmers of hope were the fight to save the Sydney Test, Jonny Bairstow's century and Mark Wood's six-wicket haul in Hobart. Beyond those moments, England were battered at every turn. The final three wickets were a concession.

They avoided a series whitewash by the barest of margins, but few could argue this tour panned out any better than the summers of 2006-07 or 2013-14.

In 18 months Australia head to England. They can only hope the scars fade.

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