The tour of South Africa was supposed to be Australia's opportunity to stamp their dominance and enter a golden era. They had convincingly won the Ashes and shown enough signs over the previous 12 months to believe a return to being an undisputed powerhouse was imminent.
It all looked to be going to plan after a convincing triumph in Durban before things fell apart and exploded with the ball tampering scandal, which has ripped apart the Steve Smith captaincy reign. Those dreams of a renaissance for Australia, who have been shamed on-and-off the field in the past 10 days, are over and no one quite knows what is ahead.
After a week from hell, they tried to soldier on in the fourth Test but were further embarrassed in the biggest Test loss in terms of runs in 84 years. Without their former leaders Smith and David Warner, who have long done the heavy lifting in the batting, Australia were feeble and routed for 119 in less than 90 minutes on day five. A run out to Nathan Lyon, the final wicket, was a fitting final humiliation of a shambolic tour.
"It was borderline embarrassing," Tim Paine, the Australian captain, told reporters after the Test. "This group here had a chance to show some fight and determination today and unfortunately we weren't able to because mentally we weren't there. You only have to only be slightly off to be exposed and we certainly were today.
"I honestly felt we were going to be a lot better than we were but it (the scandal) probably had a lot more of an effect on guys than we thought," he added.
A battered Australia will return home for a welcome breather and attempt to pick up the pieces. Fortunately, they have a lighter upcoming schedule with only a few limited-overs engagements in the coming months before their next Test assignment in October against Pakistan in the UAE.
By then, Australian cricket is sure to feel a lot different. There will be a new coach, a new mantra and new ethos. The team is about to be turned upside down and it is sure to be a rocky road ahead as they attempt to regenerate amid arguably the biggest scandal to have ever hit Australian sports.
Paine, who was on the cusp of retirement last year after being in the Test wilderness, suddenly has the daunting task of leading the team during this transition both on-and-off the field. The 33-year-old has already fronted up well during the most extraordinary circumstances and his level-headedness will be vital during an upcoming period of vulnerability.
The Tasmanian said he would learn the lessons imparted by his state captain George Bailey, the respected former skipper of Australia's Twenty20 team. "George is a very good friend of mine. I have certainly learnt a lot from him in his captaincy style," Paine said. "I've always thought about going into coaching and written things down that I've liked. Tried to take bits that I've liked and mould it on how it fits me."
Paine's opposite number, Faf du Plessis offered some pointers on how South Africa had effectively managed their culture. "We spend a lot of time and energy training our culture," he said. "If there is stuff that falls out of line, we quickly nip it in the bud because you don't want to have a cancer effect. We would like to stay humble at all times."
In the fourth Test, Australia took the first steps towards a new approach with a muted performance in a match with rare goodwill between teams that had despised each other. For so long, it has been a natural go-to for Australian players to resort to boorish behaviour to energise them but in Johannesburg there was none of that as they attempt a new beginning.
With their ingrained aggressive mantra wiped away, a flagging Australia seemed to struggle to play with the necessary enthusiasm although it was always going to be impossible for them to achieve that after the recent harrowing events.
Even du Plessis, noted that the Test had a "different feel to it and was not as competitive".
Paine was confident that Australia could strike the right brand in due time. "Hopefully not long. Obviously we will have a new coach who will have a huge say," he said. "From my point of view, we have to find the fine line of being respectful of the game and opposition and being at a level that is really competitive.
"It will be a different style to what the guys are used to," he added.
Suddenly, almost unimaginable from their lofty dreams, Australia faces a period where they are set to struggle marked by a notably brittle batting order that was exposed at the Wanderers. With three incumbent top-order batsmen absent for the foreseeable future, opportunities will arise for those waiting in line.
"We've lost two of the best players in the world for the foreseeable future, a lot of us have to step up to pick up the slack," Paine said. "There are certainly areas of concern but we have guys here that have played international cricket for a long time but they will have to step up again. The positive is that we have a clear slate now."
Australia will return home weary and facing a sceptical public hurting from their beloved national team being tarnished. Paine admitted the team had lost the trust of the nation but vowed to take heed of the criticism.
"We have to listen, take it on board and improve our behaviour," he said. "We potentially have had our head in the sand. If we continued to win then we acted and behaved how we liked and (we believed) the Australian public would be ok with that. What we've found out is that the Australian public don't like how we go about it.
"We have to learn our lessons. It's an exciting time, we are going to have a new coach and a new brand," he added. "Guys are going to have a chance to have an input into that. There are opportunities for guys to step up."
It's not the new beginning they had originally hoped for but Australia are now making the first steps out of emerging from rock bottom and leaving this sorry saga in their wake.
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