The West Indies' belated emergence as opponents of substance may have given England something to think about in their imminent limited-overs selection.
Coach Trevor Bayliss would surely have viewed the one-off Twenty20 and five one-day internationals as an opportunity to rest key men like Ben Stokes ahead of this winter's Ashes, and take another look at some of his younger options in a squad due to be named on Monday.
A one-sided first Test under the Edgbaston lights would have done little to change those plans - but the tourists' superb bounce-back win at Headingley, coupled with the arrival of limited-overs power hitters Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Evin Lewis, could put Bayliss and co on their guard.
Samuels has already taken aim at his old rival Stokes, telling the Guardian: "He should stay on the boundary when I'm batting, as far away as possible.
"As long as he keeps quiet, I won't start anything. I'm going to come to England and be a good boy . at least for the start of it."
Stokes too would surely relish another chapter in the pair's fractious rivalry, sparked by an exchange of words and a provocative salute from Samuels in the 2015 Grenada Test.
But with the Durham all-rounder so vital in all three formats, England would prefer to at least restrict his involvement - if not hold him out altogether ahead of more pressing engagements to come.
Moeen Ali's increased all-round reliability in five-day cricket puts him in the same bracket, while it would be desirable to keep Test captain Joe Root mentally fresh for the demands of leading his side Down Under.
But with few opportunities remaining for players to round into form, the fear of taking on Australia while in any way under cooked could lead to some involvement for the key trio.
Elsewhere in the squad, Mark Wood's fitness concerns raised their head once more against South Africa in June and the Durham paceman has also struggled for international form recently, aside from a four-wicket burst against Australia in the Champions Trophy.
Chris Woakes, having just returned from injury for the second Test, could be given at least September 16's T20 international off before building fitness through the ODI series while Tom Curran, who impressed in his maiden T20 internationals against South Africa, has not played for Surrey since August 13 due to back pain.
The upper and middle-order batting could follow a similar rotation approach to June's T20 series against the Proteas, in which captain Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow each sat out one of the three games and Root did not appear at all.
Liam Livingstone is among the likely beneficiaries, with Sam Billings a regular presence in the white-ball game and Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid likely all-round deputies for Moeen.
Hampshire spinner Mason Crane, named in England's squad for this week's third Test and tidy at NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day, also seems sure to play his part.
Possible England squad for T20 international v West Indies, September 16: EJG Morgan (capt), JT Ball, SW Billings, JC Buttler (wkt), MS Crane, LA Dawson, AD Hales, DJ Malan, LS Livingstone, LE Plunkett, AU Rashid, JJ Roy, DJ Willey.
Possible England squad for one-day international series v West Indies, starting September 19: EJG Morgan (capt), MM Ali, JM Bairstow, JT Ball, SW Billings, JC Buttler (wkt), MS Crane, LA Dawson, AD Hales, JJ Roy, DJ Malan, LS Livingstone, LE Plunkett, AU Rashid, BA Stokes, CR Woakes.
Source: PA
