Australia are adamant Pat Cummins has done a fine job carrying the load of leading the attack and captaining the Test team after his toughest day in the job so far.
Cummins finished a rough second day at Old Trafford with figures of 0-93, leaking almost a run a ball for the first time in his career as England went to stumps on 4-384.
But it was in the field where the strain on Cummins appeared to show most, during a chaotic middle session where England's scoring rate rose to 7.12 an over.
Australia's captain couldn't pick up sight of the ball to attempt one catch, while he failed to grasp another soon after when fielding at midwicket.
Neither proved particularly crucial as Moeen Ali was out shortly after, but it summed up the day for the quick.
Perhaps the more alarming error came after tea, when Cummins failed to position himself to back up a Steve Smith throw and let through two overthrows.
It prompted former England captain Nasser Hussain to claim in commentary that it was hard to tell who Australia's skipper was, with so many players directing traffic.
Cummins has traditionally handed some responsibilities over to Smith while bowling, but England's all-out aggression has given Australia even less time to relax in this series.
Regardless, assistant coach Dan Vettori said Cummins had done a good job during the Ashes to wear several hats, after he also captained New Zealand as a spin bowler in his career.
"It's different because the game is on such high octane in terms of this series and how good they have been, particularly today," Vettori said.
"They are so aggressive and take the game on. It is a constant factor trying to marry up your own bowling against the plans.
"Through the whole series Pat has been exceptional. He likes advice, he likes to talk to talk to people around the group.
"You see him often with Steve Smith, there is a lot of collaboration going on. It was just one of those sessions where we pushed exceptionally hard and England responded."
Vettori also defended Australia's tactics through the middle session, where they were criticised for being too straight to Zak Crawley after drawing his edge regularly through the series.
The English opener was able to routinely score runs off his pads early in his 189, before growing luckier late in his innings when attacking balls outside off stump.
"I think, first of all it, is how well Crawley played. It was an exceptional innings," Vettori said.
"He was able to take the game to us like he has all series. He doesn't let any bowlers settle and his strike rate is phenomenal. And today he took it to another level.
"That was the nature of the conditions, too. It was a pretty flat surface, there wasn't a lot of seam or swing on offer. So it made it even more difficult."
