Australia v Pakistan: Nathan Lyon king leads Aussies to series triumph

In a galaxy not that far away, ­Australian cricket was in trouble. After the second Test, the signs are more positive.

Nathan Lyon appeals successfully to dismiss Yasir Shah of Pakistan during day 4 of the second Test Match between Australia and Pakistan. Picture: AAP

In a galaxy not that far away, ­Australian cricket was unsettled, unseemly and in trouble.

On an Adelaide Oval bathed in lights, the 11 players who started the series against Pakistan completed it with a second straight Test win.

The victory sees Australia comfortably in second place behind India on the recently introduced Test Championship Table that will determine who will play off for the title at Lord’s in London on June 21.

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Two innings victories over a weakened Pakistan may not be the best indicator of the strength of the local side, but the signs are positive. The 11 is settled for the first time in two years and it is hard to see how any changes will be made before the three-Test ­series against New Zealand starting in Perth on December 12.

Concerns about David Warner’s form after a miserable Ashes are a distant memory. The opener who averaged nine in Eng­land has made 776 and been dismissed twice this summer. His record-breaking 335 not out in this match was confirmation he is back to his destructive best.

Warner was named man of the match and the series after Australia won by an innings and 48 runs on the fourth day.

It has been a rough few years for the batsman, who was suspended for 12 months for his role in the South African ball-tampering scandal.

“Obviously I had a bit of time out of the game to reflect on a lot of things,” Warner said after the victory on Monday night, “and one thing for me was to get back on the horse and train as hard as I could to make sure that I keep pushing for the next couple of years. Now that I am back here — I have always enjoyed it (but) I am enjoying it even more, and I am even hungrier than ever.”

The selectors rotated five bowlers and an allrounder through the five Tests against ­England but will be loathe to ­tinker with the trio of seamers who helped bowl out Pakistan in both matches of this series. Pat Cummins has 51 wickets for the calendar year, well ahead of the second-best bowler in the world, Stuart Broad, with 48. He, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood would have to be the best seam ­attack in the world.

Nathan Lyon had been a little off for a few Tests but bounced back yesterday when the pink ball went soft and made the most of the day time conditions.

Lyon’s 5-69 was his first five-wicket haul since the first match of the Ashes.

Captain Tim Paine lauded the “professional” effort of his side, which completed just its second series win since he took over as captain in March 2018. He said, however, that some of the fielding on the third day could have been better and that it had hurt Lyon.

The 31-year-old had two catches spilled and a stumping missed in the second innings.

“Our bowlers were clinical in both Test matches to create the chances they did,” he said.