Australia could wrap up the Ashes in record time and still be no closer to knowing their best XI.
That is the situation facing national selectors ahead of next Friday's Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Australia went to stumps at 4-271 on day three in Adelaide, leading England by 356 runs and looking likely to take an unassailable 3-0 series lead.
Victory as soon as Saturday would lock in a series victory inside 10 days of Test cricket, the fastest the urn has been wrapped up in more than a century.
Yet somehow, just as was the case at the start of the summer, there is still no real certainty around Australia's best side.
Travis Head and Alex Carey are both clearly in it, even before their Adelaide centuries. And there is little doubt over the team's best bowling attack.
But beyond that, questions remain.
Steve Smith's vertigo in Adelaide opened the door for Usman Khawaja to come back into the team, after he'd initially been left out after overcoming back spasms.
He hit 82 in the first innings, but missed out on a statement century after sweeping Will Jacks straight to the man on the legside boundary.
A golden opportunity beckoned for the 39-year-old on Friday and Khawaja looked set before edging a wide, short ball from Jacks and being caught behind for 40.
Khawaja's 122 runs for the match make a sound case for him to remain in the side, but they far from locked it in ahead of Smith's expected return in Melbourne.
And if the veteran did return, where in the batting order would it come?
Jake Weatherald has scores of 0, 23, 72, 17, 18 and 1 in his first Test series, but selectors may feel it wise to give him an extended run as an opener.
Marnus Labuschagne blitzed the start of the Sheffield Shield season to earn a recall, but now has 160 runs at 32 for the series.
It seems unlikely he would be squeezed out, but there will be concerns over the way he repeatedly offered his outside edge before being caught on 13 on Friday.
Josh Inglis may be the man most likely to go if Khawaja stayed, after scores of 33 and 22 at No.7. Again, though, future planning could win out.
And then there is Cameron Green, whose scores of a second-ball duck and seven in Adelaide raised questions over whether the allrounder belongs at No.5.
The case will no doubt be made for Beau Webster to replace Green, after the Tasmanian's solid start to Test cricket in 2025 before being dropped for the Ashes.
Beyond all that, Australia had flagged potential workload management for the quicks given the short turnarounds between Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
But that could pose a whole other headache.
