Australia's Test regeneration is off to a roaring start, with Pat Cummins spearheading the embattled team to an innings-and-40-run flogging of Sri Lanka inside three days at the Gabba.
Cummins demolished the Sri Lankans on Saturday to have them all out for 139 before dinner in Brisbane, claiming career-best figures of 6-23 as the tourists found his pace and bounce virtually unplayable in the day-night series opener.
With Australian cricket desperately needing a shining light with one more home Test before the Ashes and changes aplenty in Brisbane, the quick delivered as the hosts claimed their biggest win in more than a year and only their second since March's ball-tampering saga.
Sri Lanka are a struggling team and nothing like Australia will face in English conditions, but the style of the victory will please the hosts.
Debutant Jhye Richardson took 2-19 to go with his three wickets from the first day, including an in-swinger to bowl Dhananjaya de Silva early on day three.
There were also positive signs with the bat, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne both hitting 80s, but falling short of maiden Test centuries in Australia's 323 on day two to set up the win.
"I was really proud of the way we went about it - seven of our players were 25 or under," captain Tim Paine said.
"If we execute with the ball the way we did, I think we will have success against a lot of teams on a lot of different surfaces."
Only Mitchell Starc's bowling prompted concern before the second Test in Canberra, as he continued to struggle for rhythm and consistency in his second-innings 0-56.
But Cummins had no such issues.
After knocking over Dimuth Karunaratne on the last ball of day two, he had Dinesh Chandimal (0) and Kusal Mendis (1) edging in his first two overs on Saturday, at one stage having figures of 3-0, with Sri Lanka on their knees.
Roshen Sliva (4) and Lahiru Thirimanne (32) followed either side of dinner to give him his second five-wicket haul of the summer, before Kurtis Patterson gave him his sixth and tenth for the match with a one-handed screamer at gully to dismiss Dilrunwan Perera for eight.
"It looked like the ball was coming out of his hand a little better than it was in the Indian series when, at times, his seam was not perfect," Paine said.
"I thought, in this Test, there was times when it was perfect."
Marcus Harris also took a terrific snare at backward-square leg to pick up Niroshan Dickwella for 24 on the pull, while Nathan Lyon finished verse one of Australia's regeneration when he had Suranga Lakmal stumped to wrap up the match.
"We haven't faced (Cummins) before in any cricket, if I am not mistaken," Sri Lankan captain Chandimal said.
"This is the first time we have played him in the Test arena. He is a brilliant bowler."
