In the end, there were few surprises. Even the most foregone conclusion of an Ashes squad will still create weeks of speculation one way or another, but answering one question at the top of the order has knocked over the other unresolved ones, tipping like dominoes as we make our way down the list.
Barring injury, the only new player in the eventual XI will be Jake Weatherald, the 31‑year‑old Northern Territorian who in cricketing terms became a South Australian and then a Tasmanian, earning his place over several seasons of unflashy consistency and a willingness to counterattack. Weatherald would not have made the squad if he were not going to open the batting, which means that Marnus Labuschagne, who was always going to make the team one way or another after getting his run-scoring groove back, will bat at No 3 rather than moonlighting at the top.
