The victory by three wickets kept the series alive although Australia still leads 2-1 with two Tests to play. Neither Ben Stokes nor Pat Cummins earned the Player of the Match award, which went to Mark Wood, but each made a major contribution.

In fact, both captains have had outstanding series so far. They have set the example for their teams both on and off the field. Naturally, they’ve been criticised for some of their decisions but invariably that’s part of the top job.

Although they are clearly completely different characters many of their methods follow similar lines.

They are both relatively new to their roles but have already formed an understanding with their teams and the way they want to play the game.

As is often the case, when a captain takes up their new position it comes with an expectation of change.

In Cummins’ case he had to take on an unhappy dressing room. The problems seemed to arise from coach Justin Langer’s strict regime and expectations. It was rumoured that senior players, in particular, were tired of the methods.

In Cummins’ first series as captain he led the team to a convincing 4-1 win over England but the rumbling or discontentment continued. It proved to be the only series with Langer and Cummins at the helm. In February 2022 Langer stood down as coach. How much input Cummins might have had in this isn’t known but the change had certainly happened promptly after he took up the role.

Later Cummins gave the following insight, "I think the players benefit from a more collaborative approach. A big theme this summer was to be calmer, more composed.

“That's been the feedback from the players, staff and Cricket Australia that that's the direction we want to take the team.”

Clearly, the implication was that Langer’s methods had been far too constricting.

All of this however, was a mild situation compared with the one facing Stokes. England had lost heavily in Australia and went on to have a shambolic series defeat in West Indies. Less than a month later Joe Root resigned with Stokes instated a week later.

Interestingly, some of Stokes’ initial remarks echoed those of Cummins, “I feel that’s one thing that a leader needs to do. Always make sure that other people around them feel valued and have a voice.

“I want to have selfless cricketers who make decisions based on what they can do to win a game in that given time."

“I want to have ten other guys with me who are in that same mindset.”

Australia was already performing well when Cummins took over. It was the complete opposite for Stokes and England. They had only won one of their previous seventeen Tests.

Since then the turnaround has been remarkable with England winning 12 of the 15 Tests they’ve played and losing only two prior to the start of The Ashes series.

For both captains, a key factor was to install confidence. They had to ensure that senior players were included in decision making processes. Examples of players that have thrived with their new leaders are Usman Khawaja and Stuart Broad.

They also had to reassure younger players coming through. To make them feel comfortable and welcome in the squads and reassure them that one or two poor performances wouldn’t immediately exclude them.

Another important aspect that seemed to have been missing from the sides was allowing the players a freedom of expression. Stokes, in particular, has encouraged this so much that it has become a hallmark of his side. Extravagant stroke play and funky fields have become the norm.

A question that is always raised when a new captain takes over is whether or not their own performances will be affected by the added responsibilities.

Both Cummins and Stokes had been consistently producing such a high standard of performance prior to their appointments it was hard to imagine that they could lift their games further.

Perhaps they haven’t but their standards certainly haven’t slipped.

In the first Test at Edgbaston Cummins got Australia over the line when England looked almost certain winners. With Nathan Lyon as a ninth wicket partner he added the 54 runs required for a famous win. Cummins scored 37 of them striking four boundaries and two sixes.

Afterwards he said that he ranked the game as, “number one, absolutely” as a Test match that he’d been involved in.

Apart from his batting heroics in Birmingham, Cummins is Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the series with 15 at an average of 27.00. Statistics are one thing but Cummins has a knack of stepping up when his side needs it most. He will not shirk responsibility in taking the ball himself if the team is struggling for a breakthrough.

In the second Test, at Lord’s, Stokes produced a remarkable innings of 155 in England’s second innings but couldn’t get his team over the line as they lost by 43 runs. A few days later he was trying to rescue his side again at Headingley. His contribution of 80 almost single handedly lifted England’s first innings score from 7-142 to 237 and within 27 runs of Australia’s score. Cummins finished with six wickets. Those two efforts led England all-rounder Chris Woakes to comment, “Although we realise he’s superhuman, he can’t do it all the time.” Australia is hoping that that’s the case.

Stokes’ remarkable batting means that only Khawaja has scored more runs than Stokes’ 309 and both have become crucial wickets for the opposition.

Despite their personal leadership skills and excellent personal performances the captains cannot avoid criticism. Most of it is regarding their fielding positions.

Cummins decided to have players back on the boundary from the first ball of the series to reduce England’s propensity to score boundaries. Former captain Ricky Ponting was not impressed, “They’ve gone defensive straightaway. I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of that deep backward point as a starting option.” It should be said that Cummins often seems to take advice from vice-captain Steve Smith.

If England players started to get going he’d turn to a short ball barrage. It wasn’t pretty to watch ball after ball flying around the batters shoulder level or higher but it was highly successful. England’s attacking intent meant that they couldn’t stop themselves from having a go and, often, got out playing a pull shot. Another win for Cummins.

It’s a tactic that Australia have used before when on the defensive and England produced the same. They’d tried it on their recent tour to Pakistan and Stokes didn’t hesitate to use it again.

The method has been used almost constantly against Travis Head who admitted, “No doubt it's a challenging thing. It's foreign. There's not many periods I think we’ve seen in Test cricket where it's just been (close to) 100 per cent short balls”.

The leadership of both captains was challenged again at Lord’s over the Bairstow stumping incident. Neither got too caught up in the war of words and certainly didn’t ignite the situation any further when answering questions on the dismissal. Cummins, as he should, stood by Carey. Stokes, questioned whether it had been “in the spirit of cricket”. Nothing wrong with that, their teams and supporters would have expected exactly those reactions.

When it comes to facing the media they are both experienced enough to handle them calmly. Cummins smiles his way through them light heartedly. Stokes is so relaxed that the England cap has gone and he appears wearing a floppy England sun hat. Whether it’s an intended statement he’s making or just Stokes being himself doesn’t matter. It gives a laid back feel to what he then goes on to say.

Despite these impressions that they portray, they are fiercely determined cricketers who clearly love leading their sides. But, they want to lead them in their own ways using methods that have not been seen before or, at least, for many years.

To do that and hold the respect of their players it helps if they are producing inspiring performances themselves. Of that, there is no question. They have both been superb.

With the series still finely balanced more heroics can be expected from the leaders of their sides in the remaining two games.