On Tuesday, Australia's captain Pat Cummins emphasised the value of his team reaching the ICC World Test Championship final and expressed excitement about the possibility of playing India in the ideal summit match in London.
With a win in this week's third and final Test of their current series against South Africa at the SCG, Cummins' team, which is presently in first place in the World Test Championship standings, can secure a spot in the June final.
Australia still has a chance to secure a spot in the decider during the four-match Test series in India that starts next month if they are unable to sweep the Proteas.
And India, who are now in second place on the standings before of their home series against Australia in February and March, might potentially face Australia in the final in June.
The possibility of competing in a World Test Championship final this year, according to Cummins, has been a huge source of inspiration for his team. Cummins is even more enthusiastic about the possibility of facing India at a neutral site.
"Over the past few years, it has been a significant motivator for us. Playing in a final in London, let's say against India, at a neutral location, that's incredibly exciting, "At the SCG, Cummins told reporters.
Ironically, Australia was competing against India at the MCG in 2020 when they were penalised four points for a sluggish over rate and nearly missed making the final of the 2021 World Test Championship.
As a result, the Kiwis advanced to the championship game and defeated India to win the first World Test Championship title. Cummins noted the significance of always monitoring how swiftly his team delivers its overs.
According to Cummins, "it was still a new notion, so even things like over rates it wasn't really spoken about as crucial as probably what we think about it now."
"Every point is vital. (Now there is) lots of communication with the umpires, they are always keeping us abreast of where we are. I think we got down to nine minutes down at one stage (in a recent Test match) so we just made sure we had Trav Head or 'Smithy' (Steve Smith) as an option and we got back basically within a couple of overs.
Having just missed out on the World Test Championship final last cycle, that was always going to be a big goal," he added.
And on current form, it appears that spot in the final should be a foregone conclusion, with Australia having won all four of their home Tests against the West Indies and South Africa so far this summer.
"I think we've been playing fantastically, we've put ourselves in that position to earn that spot early which is a huge driver for us," the Australian skipper said.
"It's always exciting going to England and playing an Ashes series, but adding in a World Test Championship final (prior to the Ashes) is huge," he added.