Australia vs Sri Lanka 2019: Tim Paine's men paper over the cracks with series win 

Well, what on earth do we make of that performance?

Australia flexed their muscles in the last Test of the home summer, thumping Sri Lanka by 366 runs. In the process their players have seemingly hit form right at the pointy end of the season, after enduring what was a torrid stretch of underwhelming performances.

Mitchell Starc, notably more fired up than in any of his previous showings this season, ripped through the Sri Lankan's for match figures of 10-100. With limited conventional movement on offer, Starc's approach was more battering ram than swing king.

A more fluid approach to the crease, a higher and straighter release point, and the speedometer pushing north of 145km with regular ease - it seems something has finally clicked for Starc.

But is this another false dawn? Will the Mitchell Starc of England tours past come back to spray it merrily? We shall have to see.

Either way, it was an impressive performance from someone who must have been mentally drained, frustrated and sick to death of the media speculation after a long and mostly fruitless summer. His approach in Canberra of brute force instead of trying to force the ball to swing showed some level of adaptation and evolution, which can only bode well for the next time he is struggling for effectiveness.

At least he knows now he has somewhere to turn. It is progress in a sense, but one showing does not make for consistent improvement.

Usman Khawaja's second innings century has much of the same zeal. Players of his calibre must make hay while the sun shines, especially against a badly beaten and junior Sri Lankan attack. But whilst his fluency looked to have returned, we are still no clearer as to whether this was a change in fortunes or merely him beating on a team that was already done and dusted.

Even though this series was at a low level of value, with the Sri Lankans not posing nearly the same threat as India, as a team you still have to perform and beat who is fixtured - no matter the quality or pedigree. Test runs and wickets are still Test runs and wickets, and a series win is still a series win.

But one senses that the Australians have merely papered over a few cracks, given themselves a pat on the back and now think that everything might just be okay - especially with the return of Steven Smith and David Warner expected by the English summer.

They may well be right. Something that has emerged from this Test season as it has dragged on; it was an evolution of sorts of a young team. Gone are the too-long recycled batsmen in Shaun and Mitchell Marsh, Peter Handscomb and the now discarded Aaron Finch. Replacing them are young players with less mental scarring and little memory of harsh defeats and regular team omissions.

There is a sense of hope among this young, buoyant and now victorious outfit; hope that only youthful ignorance and eternal optimism can bring.

By mixing young exuberance and natural talent with batting stalwarts in Smith and Warner, the already successful bowling line-up and a steady captain in Tim Paine, we might just see this Australian side wake from its tumultuous 2018 in better shape than it was before the nightmare began all those many months ago.

Australia now have many months until their most important Test assignment in the Ashes. But with a series win under their belt they have finally got, at the very least, that winning feeling.

We will now have to see how they turn these promising performances into consistent efforts that are so required at international level.