Have England turned nasty in pursuit of the Ashes?
While Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland atomised the West Indies in Jamaica, Ben Stokes' England team won a classic against India at Lord's, in a game that was marked not only by plenty of tension but also an elevated level of spitefulness.
That aggression, England's players have revealed, was to a certain degree premeditated. No one used the words 'headbutt the line', like Nathan Lyon famously said Australia would ahead of the 2017 Ashes, but it was patently clear that under Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England are now willing to be nasty if it means lifting the two bilateral trophies they care about most. England last won a Test match on Australian soil in January 2011.
Here are the key factors at play looking ahead to this summer's Ashes.
The return of Jofra Archer
Of course, it helps the verbal jousting if it can be backed up with the kind of speed and hostility afforded England by the return of Jofra Archer. Alongside Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson and company, Archer offers a fast-bowling threat that has the potential to trouble Australia: something underlined by how Shamar and Alzarri Joseph got the Australians, young players and old alike, hopping around in the Caribbean.
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Among 15 redundancies at Cricket Australia this week was the exit of Alex Kountouris, the governing body's head of sports science. Over a long and distinguished career, Kountouris was one of the leading figures in devising Australia's world-leading approach to keeping its best fast bowlers fit.
Nearly a decade after they started playing regularly together, the durability of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Starc, and their splendid back-up Boland has been the greatest competitive advantage for the Test side.
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