After this 4th test - where to from here.
Being more optimistic, we genuinely aren't that far away from winning. Test matches are decided by little things, Aus was on top twice in the 4th test but let it escape both times. In warner and Clarke we have cornerstones for our batting order, Rogers may have another year or two in him after all. But we need more consistent contributions from Khawaja, Smith and one other.
Leadership is still an issue. Clarke is in the Tendulkar category of personalities, but right now we need a Ganguly or Dhoni style captain. We need a strong manager of men, someone with a ruthless streak that can create unshakeable inner belief in his team.
Remember, we have gone from a situation of having a leaderhsip group consisting of Ponting, Hayden, Langer, McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist to Clarke and (maybe) Watson.
Complicating factors are that the captaincy agrees with Clarke from a personal performance perspective and there is no other option. Boof has a key role to play, but also Clarke would benefit from having a pint or 20 with AB.
Our bowling is there or thereabouts. Not enough to win matches by itself, but can do the job if we get reasonable totals.