Australia's no-names strike a blow for team ethic
Australia have a willingness to subsume individual identity for the greater good, and the point is made by fixing a light on Marcus North or Ben Hilfenhaus, two comparative no-name graduates to a team deprived of its celebrity sheen
The yard-dog ethic and the need to stick to the masterplan were both known to North and Hilfenhaus as they seized another chance to gild their Test careers. Modesty and intensity were their offerings as well as previously underrated skill. Badge-kissing is not to everyone's taste, but when North removed his helmet and planted lips on crest after swiping a six to bring up his second hundred of the series, there was no hint of contrivance.
Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo