Of course, it had to end with Pat Cummins. Two stumps dazed and blinking on the ground like the survivors of a big night out. Two arms outspread to the world. One high-wattage smile. There is no great achievement in firing a ball past Naseem Shah, a teenage No 11 who by batting ability should be classed as a No 15. The achievement was everything that came before the end of the third and deciding Test match in Lahore, everything this moment capped off.
Even before the era when Australian teams did not visit Pakistan, Australian teams did not win in Pakistan. Sure, one series in 1959 against a fledgling side from a fledgling nation. Then the 1998 series against the grain, the last visit before the current tour. Those aside, Pakistan trips went a particular way: lose the first Test in Karachi on a spinning track, move to placid surfaces, be held to two draws. Lose the series 1-0. Rinse, repeat.
