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The national selection panel of Rod Marsh, Mark Waugh, Darren Lehmann and Trevor Hohns made a right royal botch of the last Ashes tour.
Their first mistake was naming the same squad for the back-to-back tours of the Caribbean and England on vastly different wickets.
Brad Haddin missed the second Ashes Test when his young daughter was seriously ill. Then the selectors dropped the keeper for the third, completely ignoring the team culture of family first.
The selectors then swapped Mitchell Marsh for his older brother Shaun which back-fired badly, before resurrecting Peter Siddle for the last Test, having ignored him for the first six games.
So the Ashes were lost 3-2 when the Baggy Greens played as badly as the selectors selected.
With the Bangladesh tour cancelled due to safety, the selectors had to make dramatic changes to take on the well performed New Zealanders with Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Haddin and Ryan Harris retired.
Aussie fans were understandably concerned whom the selectors would turn to.
Instead, the selectors nailed it by naming Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.
David Warner has had two long-standing opening partners with Eric Cowan and Chris Rogers.
In 28 innings, Cowan and Warner posted 1256 runs at an average of 44.85, with a high of 214. That included three century stands, and six half-centuries.
But the Warner-Rogers partnership was even more productive.
In 41 innings they posted 2053 runs at 51.32, with a high of 200, that included nine century stands, and seven half-centuries.
Cowan and Rogers were sedate, more safety-first partners, but the swashbuckling Warner now has a kindred spirit in Burns.
Little wonder they celebrated with 161 and 237 partnerships, the first time in cricket history Australian openers have posted century stands in both innings of a Test.
Warner scored 163 and 116, the third time he’s made back-to-back centuries in the same Test – Burns cracked 71 and 129, moving from 88 to 100 with two huge sixes.
Playing in only his third Test, Burns has moved from a respectable average of 36.50 to an elite 56.67.
Khawaja was just as impressive, ending two years in the wilderness after previous selection panels shabbily treated him with their revolving door policy.
The leftie’s top score of 174 and 9* took him from a lowly Test average of 25.13 to a more respectable 35 with more in store.
There was considerable conjecture whether Khawaja should bat three or four, with skipper Steve Smith firmly entrenched at first drop.
But Smith decided on Khawaja at three, and few could argue with the skipper’s decision, except run-scoring machine Smith scored only 48 and 1.
But the skipper is still averaging 56.27 with 11 Test tons and 12 half-centuries.
At five there’s Adam Voges who scored 130* on debut against the Windies at Roseau, and he’s averaging 56.50.
Mitchell Marsh has yet to score well in Test cricket, but he’s managed four Sheffield Shield tons for Western Australia – he can bat.
The best part of the Australian batting equation is there’s no tail, with keeper Peter Nevill heading the lower order.
With six Sheffield Shield centuries and 17 half-centuries, Nevill is a class batsman who will fire at Test level. He scored 59 and 45 against England during the last Ashes series.
Mitchell Johnson has scored a Test ton against South Africa at Cape Town, as well as 11 half-centuries, which includes 96* against South Africa at Johannesburg and 92* against Sri Lanka at the MCG.
Mitchell Starc has scored 99 against India at Mohali, as well as five half-centuries.
Josh Hazlewood averages a very handy 28 with the bat in Tests, with a top score of 39 against the Windies at Roseau, while Nathan Lyon has a top score of 40* against the Windies at Bridgetown.
That’s a cracking Australian batting order, but there will be no justice if rain saves the Black Caps from a heavy defeat today.
Especially as the selectors got it right at last.