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It has taken Australia seven World Cup games but they have finally settled upon a bowling attack which appears decently balanced.
The defending champions were hamstrung by injuries to their third and fourth best quicks in Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson, forcing them to experiment with a host of different bowlers and varied combinations.
Australia trialled a range of different bowling approaches in the warm-up games and in this World Cup have used four different combinations in just seven matches.
They went with three quicks plus leggie Adam Zampa in their first three matches, then had two different combinations of all-pace attacks in their following two matches.
In the sixth match they went back to their original attack of three pacemen plus Zampa, before against England deciding to play both Behrendorff and Lyon together for the first time.
Australia have been trying to work out which two bowlers best complement their star strike bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
Mitch Starc has been unstoppable. (Photo by Action Foto Sport/NurPhoto)
There were clear weaknesses with the combinations Australia used in each of their first six World Cup matches. In matches one, two, three and six they paired star quicks Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins with Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa.
The issue with this combination, aside from the poor form of Zampa and Coulter-Nile, is that both of those players are attacking bowlers who seek wickets over dot balls.
Australia already had immense wicket taking power thanks to Starc and Cummins. So it was questionable whether Australia needed both of their support bowlers to be such attacking options.
This meant that once Starc and Cummins finished their new ball spells there was no bowler who could reliably build pressure from one end.
After that combination faltered Australia played four specialist quicks in their next two matches.
Whereas the previous combination was too attacking, this one lacked variation. Spinners may not have been as effective as usual in this World Cup but they remain an important option to change the tempo in the middle overs.
The all-pace attack never looked like a long-term solution. Perhaps if Australia had both Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson fit and firing then it would have been worthwhile. But they simply did not have the quality of quicks in their squad required to make it work.
Throughout those first six matches Australia looked vulnerable once Starc and Cummins finished their new ball burst.
They took steps to fix this issue, to bolster their attack beyond the first Power Play, by bringing in new ball specialist Jason Behrendorff and frugal off spinner Nathan Lyon.
While this combination was not as aggressive as the one which featured Zampa and Coulter-Nile, it offered better control and greater flexibility.
Lyon’s strike rate may be 50 per cent worse than Zampa’s but the trade-off is that he’s one of the most economical bowlers in modern ODIs.
Over the past five years only Hazlewood has bettered Lyon’s economy rate of 4.86 runs per over among Australian bowlers.
Australia are getting such penetration from Starc and Cummins that their spinner needs, first and foremost, to offer the team control in the middle overs.
Lyon does this very well. Only three times in his past 15 ODIs has he conceded more than 50 runs.
In the warm-up match against England he went for just 37 from his ten overs, before going for only 43 from nine overs yesterday.
Lyon is unlikely to collect a man of the match award any time soon. That matters not as Starc and Cummins have the domination angle covered. What they need in support are role players like Lyon.
(AAP Image/Darren England)
Meanwhile, Behrendorff’s rare ability to swing the new ball allows Australia to hold back Cummins. Whereas previously teams could aim to see off Starc and Cummins and then target the support bowlers, now they have Cummins waiting for them at first change.
That balance is far more attractive for Australia. Although Behrendorff is far from the finished product as an ODI bowler, he has long appeared to have the talent to flourish at international level.
So often players just need that one breakthrough performance to feel they belong in ODIs or Tests. Behrendorff’s five-wicket haul against England may just be such a moment.
What is not in doubt is that he is at his best with the new ball.
In the seven ODIs in which Behrendorff has opened the bowling he has taken 12 wickets at 27, and maintained a miserly economy rate of 5.18 runs per over.
His ability to change between swinging the ball back at right handers or slanting it across them is of great value. Similarly, when he bowls to left handers, they can get stuck between playing for the out swing or guarding against the one that seams back in at their front pad.
Capable left arm quicks are gold dust in international cricket. England, India and South Africa all haven’t had one for years. Meanwhile, Australia may just have unearthed a second one to complement Mitchell Starc.