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How about this for an ultimate Australian cricket fans fantasy? Complete obliteration of England in a brutal Ashes whitewash that has sent shockwaves through the English camp off the field.
Seeing hated foes such as Jonathan Trott, Graeme Swann and Matt Prior laid in waste as the casualties during the tour, as well as the trio of Cook, Flower and Pietersen loaded in the gun as part of its aftermath.
The fantasy was made all the more lovely for the fact we saw it happen.
In the face of this, we can be forgiven for allowing hysteria to delve into delusion with us now sure we will ascend to our rightful place atop the Test cricket summit, starting with a victory over South African.
In thinking this, we are contemplating a four-minute mile when just having learned to walk again.
I say this as the impressive whitewash was achieved despite the team’s batting still being fundamentally flawed, with the tail rescuing it all series long. This was inspired by Brad Haddin, making a comeback that would have cast Lazarus as his back-up.
Consider these first innings figures to show the effect that the Aussie tail had on the series – the contribution of the top order, with the final score in brackets.
First Test, Brisbane: 5-100 (295)
Second Test, Adelaide: 5-257 (570)
Third Test, Perth: 5-143 (385)
Fourth Test, Melbourne: 6-122 (204)
Fifth Test, Sydney: 5-97 (326)
That is 1057 runs added by the 7-11 batsmen at an average of 44.
Against the outstanding South African attack in their own backyard, these deeds will not be replicated. For Australia to stand a chance, it will need its top six to stand up.
Fans will say that they achieved that in the recent series by pointing to the nine centuries scored by the top six, with only George Bailey missing out.
While one can respect this, seven of the nine centuries were scored in the second innings with Australia holding huge leads and under little pressure.
The key is who might stand up in what will be a real cauldron.
Michael Clarke is the obvious one, with him being a vindicated batting master with performances of real note in South Africa against the same attack.
One gets the feeling that when the passion of the series is at its most intense that he might be the one to take centre stage.
Of the rest, Chris Rogers has the technique and temperament to be a factor, while the little Aussie battler in Steve Smith always finds a way.
One has less faith in Shane Watson surviving the brutal new ball examination from the South African quicks at three.
Which leaves only Dave Warner, and whether he can translate home form into away performances and is mature enough to deal with the South African bowling quality and unsettling tactics.
While the batting is a worry, the bowling unit is so exceptional that it could even dominate the much-vaunted South African batting line-up. The attack has a balance that has rarely been seen, allowing it to fire on all cylinders in such an eclectic manner.
It’s equally adept at strangling the batsmen into submission through their suffocating defensive acumen or blowing them away with brutal attacking assaults.
Do we need to remind South Africans of the devastation that Mitchell Johnson can wreak?
Ultimately, the battle between South African bats and the Australian bowling will define the series. On one hand is a batting line-up that has taken a blow by the loss of Kallis, but still has the quality to neutralise the Aussies attack.
They have the credibility of doing similar to a very accomplished English attack performing at its best, and aided by its home conditions, in 2012.
In the other corner is an Australian attack that in its past two series has smashed an English batting unit of high calibre into complete oblivion, allowing the team dominance in the series that has permitted their batting to become a factor.
If the Australian bowling can make it a series where 300 is a good score, then it becomes a toss of a coin clash.
Lastly, we cannot look at this series without remarking on the impact that Jacques Kallis’ retirement will have on the South African team. The team has lost the ace out of its deck with his masterful batting, heady bowling and underrated slips fielding consigned to the history books.
This leaves them with the challenge to find a replacement for the irreplaceable – an act of futility that can only enhance Australia’s chances in the series.
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