Alastair Cook played his most convincing innings in sometime on Tuesday, forcefully denying that weariness has seeped into his game after such a long and intense Test career.
There are those who worried, however, that the chiseled opener was looking gaunt around the edges even before he stepped out onto the WACA today, the site of his first Test century against Australia 11 years ago.
At 32 Cook, in sporting terms, has only just reached middle age yet the miles accumulated over 150 Test matches has surely taken a psychic toll.
His double century earlier this year aside, and even that was against a tame West Indies, the patient vigils are now few and far between.
Perhaps it is too late for their former captain to protect himself against the ravages of time but England must heed caution with their current one.
Joe Root is not 27 until the end of the month but has already represented the England team 184 times across all formats. If we estimate the average length of a Test match to be four days, that is 370 in total – more than a year in the hutch, out in the middle or on the field.
Save for a limited-overs series here or there, Root has not head a break since making his Test debut in Nagpur in 2012 and the events of the last year will have been more energy-sapping than any other.
As well as becoming captain of his country he welcomed baby Alfie to the world, but instead of enjoying Christmas with his son, is spending the festive season cleaning up after his team-mates’ childish antics.
Root is not of a mind to request a rest. The limited-overs series against the West Indies before heading to Australia would have seemed the opportune time to recharge the batteries yet still he played in all five one-day internationals. It is difficult to believe that England, who won the series 4-0, would have struggled without his services.
It is fair to wonder then if his mounting responsibilities are affecting his mental application as a few wrinkles have crept into a game that up to this point has had no obvious flaws. He has twice been trapped lbw in this series already and they were odd dismissals for a player usually so brilliant off his pads.
Two half-centuries, for any other player, would represent a reasonable start to an Ashes series away from home but when England needed their talisman at the Oval he simply could not convert.
Contrast that with Steve Smith, whose perfectly measured unbeaten century swung the pendulum Australia’s way in the first Test, and it is fair to expect more from England’s own talisman when the going gets tough.
It would of course make sense to make sure your best players remain fresh for the most important series of the year. Both had played in seven Tests ahead of the Ashes in 2017 but Root had participated in 19 ODIs, Smith 13.
Smith has not be called upon for a Twenty20 since March 2016 while Root is still involved. The hack-and-slash format of the game they may be, but it meant Root hung around in India at the start of the year instead of taking himself out of a cricketing environment.
Steve Smith and Joe Root of England meet for the coin toss
What of the other components of the ‘big four’? Virat Kohli, phenom though he is, realised he is still human and sought a break from the ongoing series against Sri Lanka – for what turned out to be his wedding. New Zealand’s schedule is not overbearing enough for Kane Williamson to feel much of a strain.
The international calendar will only become more packed, and more tempting, and Root may cash in on the IPL too next year as lines between the club and country games blur.
It is up to England to protect their star asset when he is under their auspices, as for Root to lose his lustre in his early 30s would be a crime against the sport. Age may be just a number, but an ever-increasing amount of games is the one figure to worry about.
