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Who are the young quicks who will replace on-song veterans Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson when they retire from Test cricket?
I have identified the eight best Australian pacemen aged 24 or younger and ranked them based on who has the best chance of making an impact in Tests over the next decade.
Part one looked at the players I ranked from five to eight – today, I look at the top four.
1. James Pattinson (VIC, 23 years old) – 47 Test wickets at 26.
Cricket fans are sometimes guilty of having short memories.
Just nine months ago, Pattinson was Australia’s Test spearhead and one of the emerging superstars of the game.
The combative quick had been the only Australian bowler who posed anything close to a constant threat during the 4-0 whitewash in India.
Operating consistently between 145kph and 152kph, Pattinson roughed up the Indian batsmen on benign subcontinental decks.
Heading into the Ashes in England he was viewed by many as Australia’s ace in the pack – a bowler of rare ferocity who had the ability to fracture England’s then imposing batting line-up.
It took just two underwhelming Tests in the Ashes, when Pattinson was clearly bereft of rhythm, for him to begin his slide in popular standings.
A back injury saw him play no further part in that series.
It also opened the door, in a roundabout way, for the return of Johnson, who went on to form a devastating combination with fellow veteran pacemen Harris and Siddle.
By the time Australia secured a 5-0 Ashes result, Pattinson had gone from being the prince of Australian cricket to “James who?”.
Now he must bide his time until one of that accomplished trio retires or loses form.
But there is little doubt in my mind that Pattinson remains the bowler likely to one day take over from Dale Steyn as Test cricket’s most destructive quick.
2. Mitchell Starc (NSW, 23 years old) – 41 Test wickets at 33.
Starc is a truly unique cricketer.
Left-arm quicks standing 197cm tall who can swing the ball at up to 150kph are as rare as it gets.
His lofty, easily-repeated action offers him the in-swing to right-handed batsmen which Mitchell Johnson wishes he could conjure on command.
The New South Welshmen is yet to produce the same level of consistency as Pattinson, who has also played 12 Tests.
But his best is astoundingly good.
For a variety of reasons, Starc has not had the chance to settle into Test cricket.
Incredibly, his 12 matches have been broken up into 10 separate stints in the side.
Eight times he has been brought into the Australian team, played just one Test and then missed the following match through either omission or injury.
Adapting to Test cricket is a robust challenge in the best of circumstances.
But such an unpredictable flow of appearances makes it nigh on impossible to acclimatise.
When Starc is finally offered an extended run in the side I can see him swiftly becoming one of the team’s most valuable players.
He has the ability and point of difference to be every bit as good as Pattinson.
3. Pat Cummins (NSW, 20 years old) – 22 first-class wickets at 30.
Few 18-year-old cricketers in history have made such a grand impact on Test debut.
Thrust into the most difficult challenge in the game – facing South Africa away from home – Cummins thrived.
The manner in which he worked over and then dismissed Jacques Kallis remains a vibrant memory.
One of the greatest batsmen of all time, Kallis was a masterful player of pace bowling.
Yet he was unprepared for the bombardment he received from the Aussie teenager.
Cummins shook Kallis with a ferocious bouncer and over a succession of deliveries drew the veteran further and further away from his off stump.
The sequence of brilliance and guile ended with Kallis fending at a length delivery just outside off to provide Michael Clarke with a catch at first slip.
His efforts left his opponents, teammates and esteemed pundits flabbergasted.
Kallis, a reserved man not known for offering up lavish praise, said after the match he believed Cummins had a “big future”.
Cummins’ ability to gain sharp bounce from deliveries at up to 150kph may have caught the eye.
But it was the shrewdness he showcased which suggested he was a special player who was more than just a tearaway quick.
While he has been plagued with injuries since that debut in the baggy green, he is still only 20 years old. Once his body matures, he could become one of the elite pacemen in the world.
4. Alister McDermott (QLD, 22 years old) – 68 first-class wickets at 22.
The prodigiously-gifted Queenslander tends to get overlooked as a result of the eye-catching efforts of the three bowlers listed above.
Yet he could scarcely have had a better start to his career, particularly in first-class and 50-over cricket.
McDermott announced himself in the Sheffield Shield final against Tasmania two summers ago.
In the first innings, he set up Queensland’s triumph by scything through Tasmania’s strong batting lineup en route to figures of 6-54.
Given he is the son of one of Australia’s all-time great Test quicks, Craig McDermott, who also happens to be a gun bowling coach, it is not surprise Alister is such a talent.
He does not have the searing pace of Starc, Pattinson or Cummins but bowls at a decent clip between 135-140kph, hits the right areas with regularity and is a master of both swing and seam.
Surprisingly, he has yet to be handed an international cap.
But his record of 145 wickets at 23 across all three formats combined suggests that cannot be far away.