You expect Australia to take the appropriate, if uncomfortable, path. Decision making off the field is often looked down upon by those that take decisions on it. But it is just as important. That is why there is much to admire in the Australian system; it has tough, hardy men at all levels. Consequently, the decision to send Andrew Symonds back would have been easier for them than for most.

Not only was a senior man sent home, the reasons for the action were clearly spelt out. They were in the open, not camouflaged behind flimsy decoys. So now, everyone knows what you cannot do. Remember, the captain was inexperienced but the Aussies encourage you to be your own man. It is an admired quality, not one that is met with raised eyebrows.

Kevin Pietersen comes across as being his own man as well. He is confident and combative and that is often equated with arrogance. But when he meets a fork in the road, he chooses the path of aggression. In doing so he gives his team the best chance of success. It might still be early days for him as captain, but he is not feeling his way around. If he fails he will not be able to look elsewhere and good leaders are happy to live with that responsibility.

His is a great story, one of the more interesting ones in recent times. Clearly he has backed himself at all times; often he has been theatrical, outspoken and unafraid to rock the boat. When you have to struggle to prove yourself in someone else’s world, you either end up being negative and bitter or overly combative. Pietersen has evolved in an environment where he has always been the odd man out and without the self-belief he so clearly exudes, he would have been lost.

By being open about the mediocrity in the English cricket system, often alluded to but rarely taken head-on, he has sent out a message about the kind of players he wants to work with. “I want players who perform day-in-day-out” he said. He is looking for match-winners, not cosy players who do enough to stay in the side. When you apply that condition, it is not difficult to see who he is after.

There was much written about Andrew Flintoff’s batting form at the start of the season, even suggestions about him being a bowler who does a bit with the bat. Instead, Pietersen sent him up the order, at once a statement of faith and a challenge. With the backing of the captain, Flintoff is back to being the nightmare batsman for the opposition.

And England suddenly have the right balance again; a batsman among the five bowlers and a bowler in the top six.

Next he worked on Harmison, a man of fragile temperament but enormous ability. England, much to everyone’s glee, were ready to give up on him. But sometimes the biggest brutes have soft cores, feel the same need for reassurance as average strugglers. Sanath Jayasuriya is like that. So, it seems, is Harmison.

It seems a strange anomaly; that love and caring should be the path towards men possessed of such destruction. Now Harmison is happy to tour in the winter again where previously a visit to the supermarket seemed a couple of miles too far. Flintoff and Harmison, available and in form, represent the best bowling England can put on the park. It is no surprise that a batsman figured that out.

Big players get frustrated playing the little leagues. They don’t need to prove themselves there, merely to show that they are ready again. England would have lost Harmison to Durham; now he has an opportunity to show the world he can travel. Pietersen’s next stop, not surprisingly, is Simon Jones. He gives the impression that he knows where to look. I think he will tell England to cut the talk and play. Unless he falls prey to the talk himself, unless he starts playing to the gallery.