A consummate performance from a classy team - Australia were worthy WTC winners

And if you were just to glance into The Oval’s stands you’d have thought India were dominating the ICC World Test Championship during the 13 sessions of play.

But out in the middle things were very different.

Report: Australia crowned ICC World Test Champions

Australia were in charge of the WTC Final from about midway through the first day, having made it through a tricky first morning relatively unscathed in what turned out to be arguably the toughest conditions in which to bat.

And such is the quality of this Australian side that they withstood comeback attempts from India over the course of the following four days that would have spooked most other Test teams.

Key moments: One mammoth partnership, a selection gamble and clutch catches

The intent of Travis Head summed up Australia’s week.

Scoring at close to a run-a-ball right from the off, the Aussie number five put the pressure right back on Australia’s bowlers at the start of a knock of 163 that deservedly earned him the Player of the Match award.

“The first day we got ourselves into a really nice position,” Australia’s other centurion Steve Smith said.

“Trav obviously played exceptionally well and I sat up the other end and watched him do his work, sort of played second fiddle I suppose.

“From that first day we kind of controlled the game.”

Had it not been for Head’s heroics there were a number of Aussies who could have bagged the individual honour.

Not least Smith, but also the metronomic Scott Boland, who was phenomenal on his first appearance in a Test for Australia in England.

“It was probably just hitting similar areas all the time; there was a little bit of bounce outside the off stump so we tried to exploit that,” Boland explained after his 3/46 had helped bowl India out in the fourth innings, with his dismissal of Virat Kohli sparking Australia’s run to victory on day five.

“It felt pretty good to get Kohli out, and to get two in an over was nice too.”

Boland now has 33 wickets in his eight Tests at an average of just 14.57 – phenomenal figures by anyone’s standards, never mind for a 34-year-old who must have thought his chance at international level had come and gone.

But the Victorian, whose performance Smith described as “outstanding”, is as measured and consistent in his mindset as he is with the ball in hand, not getting carried away despite his brilliance.

“I’ve been playing state cricket for Victoria for about 12 years so I’ve done some hard work and it’s really nice to play in international cricket and get some wickets,” he said, in typically understated fashion.

The week’s action underlined just how quality this Australian team are… with an emphasis on the word team.

The group appear comfortable and relaxed in each other’s company, and are united in their task of following up this World Test Championship title with an Ashes series win in the remainder of the tour before turning their focus to the Cricket World Cup later in the year.

A host of experienced players are complemented well by some young talent, while there’s depth to a batting line-up that contains a variety of styles, making them adept at adjusting to different conditions or match situations.

Pat Cummins is a calm but calculated presence as captain, and with the ball he makes up part of a nicely balanced attack.

There’s pace and height aplenty, but a variety of threats, with the left-arm angle of Starc bringing a wicket-taking X-factor to an already excellent bowling group.

Depth is a quality there too, to such an extent that Boland could be left out of the playing XI to face England at Edgbaston this week despite his outstanding showing at The Oval.

With Josh Hazlewood and Michael Neser waiting in the wings, it’s going to be a group effort for the remainder of this Australian tour.

And for India, it’s a case of back to the drawing board. Or more accurately, the Caribbean, which is where they will kick off the next World Test Championship cycle with two Tests against West Indies in July.

Will it be third time lucky for India in the WTC when the next final comes around at Lord’s in 2025?

There’s time to play with but a lot of work to be done for a group of players for whom this will be their last crack at the WTC crown.

And out in The Oval’s stands, there was a begrudging acceptance from the Indian majority, who streamed through the gates expecting world-class cricket and received precisely that - just not all from the side they wanted.

So, even while their team were on the back foot, the flags kept on waving and the cheers kept on coming from supporters who met Australia’s victory with the grace and respect that Cummins and company deserved.