It is, of course, little more than a week since South Africa were the ones facing these questions.
They made three changes after Australia won the first Test in Durban.
Eyes are now on the tourists’ selectors and this series coming before contests against New Zealand, India and England only adds extra intrigue.
A stony-faced Australia coach Andrew McDonald refused to be drawn on potential changes on Wednesday, but hardly gave ringing endorsements of his batters.
“I can’t defend that,” McDonald said of Australia’s first-innings collapse to 99 all out.
Attracting the most attention is number three Marnus Labuschagne, who has gone 47 innings without an international century to equal the Australia record.
His inexplicable second-innings dismissal, when he hit spinner Simon Harmer to long-on for 39 as Australia tried to save the Test, was the fourth time he has fallen in the thirties in six innings since the Ashes.
“Some of the hardest part of batting at number three is getting in,” said Cummins, when asked to guarantee whether Labuschagne will keep his place.
“He is doing that. We need to turn those 30s into bigger scores. He knows that.”
In that run of wasted starts, Labuschagne has been bowled missing a flick to leg, missed another to be pinned lbw, drove a spinner straight to cover and whacked another to long-on.
“I got the feeling last night Andrew McDonald was getting very impatient,” former Australia batter Phil Jaques said on ABC.
“He wants a response from the batting group and Pat Cummins does as well.”