Because, in the end, despite the 3-0 score line, we’ve had a much closer series than most people anticipated. There seems to have been a certain amount of pooh-poohing of the story headlined Arthur reveals two-series strategy, which looks to me like a case of someone needing something to fill the column inches.
We wanted to try to push England really hard in England, but we wanted to win in Australia, Arthur told ABC Radio. Really? And this is supposed to be news?
So what have we got out of the end of this series?
First up, we’ve got a bowling attack that should be able to take twenty wickets in Australian conditions. It’s obvious the wickets we’ve just played on were tailored to suit Swann, but it’ll be a different kettle of fish when hostilities resume, assuming we’ve got a battery of fit quicks with Harris as a key player.
Second, you can probably be reasonably confident about more than half the batting order. Having chopped and changed, I’d like to see Rogers and Warner at the top, Watson at Three or Four, Clarke at Four or Five and Smith at Five or Six. Throw in Haddin, Harris if fit and Lyon and there’s eight out of the eleven with spaces for two quicks, one of whom will be Siddle and a gap at Three or Six, depending on what you’re going to do with a fit Watto.
Third, as pointed out here, England’s batting can be vulnerable if things are planned correctly, and while Australia's players - and selectors - lack resilience if tested for extended periods (good point) that batting order noted above looks to be close to as good as it’s likely to be unless Clarke’s back starts playing up again.
There’s the opportunity for someone (Hughes, Cowan or Khawaja, for starters) to claim back the Three with good scores in the early rounds of the Sheffield Shield, and the possibility of a younger bloke (Doolan is one possibility, though there are others) claiming a berth at Six with Watto staying at Three.
I like it, anyway.
There will, of course, be plenty to look forward to, though transmission from here won’t be resuming on a regular basis until mid-November, and may not be back thereafter, depending on travel arrangements and such.
The forthcoming one dayers and T20s? Push me to one side and call me a fuddy duddy with other fish to fry.