For true cricket aficionados, it's all a bit sad really.
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Unless you are some sort of sadist, the sight of Australia hammering easybeats like the West Indies and South Africa in our own backyard has been no cause for uncorking the Dom Perignon.
It doesn't seem that long ago South Africa were a formidable team, and somehow they arrived on our shores ranked as the No.2 Test nation in the world.
Two Tests later, having been slaughtered at the Gabba and MCG, it is glaringly obvious that the likes of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Quinten de Kock have not been adequately replaced, leaving the Proteas with a potent fast-bowling attack, but not much else.
The West Indies, of course, are a pathetic imitation of the colossal outfits skippered by Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards, who terrorised opponents for the best part of two decades.
In saying that, Pat Cummins' Aussies are a quality unit in their own right, prompting the skipper to declare after this week's triumph in Melbourne they are "probably the best Test team I've played in".
Maybe so, but we'll have a better idea by late next year how good they really are.
First, Australia head to India in February for a four-Test series, followed by an Ashes campaign in England starting in June.
If the men in the Baggy Greens can win both those series, then they will undeniably rate as the premier team in the world, and one of the finest of all time.
But I have a sneaking suspicion a reality check is looming large on the horizon.
India have been hot and cold now for several years, perhaps best illustrated by Virat Kohli, who - believe it or not - has gone 36 Test innings since his last century, against Bangladesh in November, 2019.
Kohli, however, has scored seven Test tons against Australia and seems to save his best for them, so would it be any surprise if he again rises to the occasion?
His recent stats might suggest otherwise, but if Kohli can again master the Aussies, it will reaffirm his reputation as the greatest batsman of his era.
How Australia fare in India might well set the tone for what shapes as an even more daunting challenge - England on home soil in the Ashes.
It's hard to believe the transformation of the English side since they were out here 12 months ago, when they lost the series 4-0 and were lucky to avoid a 5-0 whitewash.
Since then, they've promoted Ben Stokes as captain, replacing Joe Root, appointed former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum as coach and won nine of their past 10 Tests.
The incumbent T20 and 50-over world champions, the Poms are fast becoming an irresistible force in red-ball cricket, too.
It's not just the number of matches they have won, it's how they are going about it.
Having performed an uncanny impersonation of rabbits in the headlights last summer, England are now the most positive, proactive team in world cricket.
Under the McCullum-Stokes regime, they have scored at an average run rate of 4.77 per over, including a record-breaking 4-506 on day one of the recent Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
England returned from Pakistan with a 3-0 triumph that spoke volumes about their new-found approach.
They scored their runs at a rapid rate, and when they needed to take wickets, they did so with an array of outside-the-square tactics.
In the process, they have removed the weakest links in their line-up, replacing them with players capable of embracing the attacking, aggressive philosophy that was quickly dubbed "Bazball".
In Ben Duckett, they have uncovered an opener who scores at an even faster rate than David Warner.
In the middle order, rookie Harry Brook strung together three centuries against Pakistan at a strike rate of 92.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old leggie Rehan Ahmed became England's youngest-ever Test player, taking 2-89 and 5-48 in a spectacular debut. Incidentally, he's also scored a first-class century.
Perhaps what was most remarkable about their dominance in Pakistan was the fact that England weren't at full strength.
Jonny Bairstow, who has scored six Test centuries in 2022, was unavailable through injury, and paceman Jofra Archer is getting close to a comeback after scarcely playing in the past 18 months.
Meanwhile, they left veteran Stuart Broad back in England, where he is no doubt preparing a warm welcome for Warner, whom he dismissed seven times during the 2019 Ashes series.
If all goes well between now and the series opener at Edgbaston, England could potentially line up with a team that looks something like this: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Stokes (c), Brook, Bairstow, Ahmed, Archer, Broad, Jimmy Anderson.
They're a serious team, the Poms, and on home turf, with a Duke's ball swinging around, they will be infinitely more competitive than the hapless whipping boys we saw out here last summer.
Traditionally, the most exciting Ashes have always been played in England.
The contest true fans are craving should be well worth the wait.
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