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The historic Ashes series could provide a reason to cheer, but this series will also witness the Aussie side celebrate a greater number of birthdays than an arcade in the nineties. New boy Jake Weatherald celebrated his 31st a day before the squad was announced. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day preceding the Perth Test. Beau Webster reaches 32 just before the Brisbane match, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on day two in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood becomes 35 on the final day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 before January is over.

Older Squad Interest Grows

For a couple of years there has been growing curiosity with the age of this team and particularly the bowling unit. It is rare to have almost every player near a Test team being above thirty, aside from novelty-sized mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that greater age was a disadvantage: a Test squad featuring a four-bowler lineup with over 1,500 wickets between them is hardly a weakness, and it makes sense that all of those bowlers are deep into their professional lives.

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Perhaps what really highlighted the talking point is that the reserve players over that time, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also deep into their 30s. Emerging pacemen have briefly joined teams – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injuries, meaning there has been no obvious replacement plan.

Transition Imposed by Injuries

So far, that hasn’t mattered, as the Big Four plus Boland have kept on backing up. Any side knows that having a batch of same-generation players might mean a group of similarly-timed departures, but so far change has remained theoretical: a train that would indeed be coming round the mountain when she comes, but one that had not steamed into view.

Now, abruptly, transition is here, imposed on this Australian squad in the span of a short period. The back injury to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would probably only sit out the opening match, was the team management assessment, and as the first-change bowler behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could comfortably be covered for by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, the balance undergoes a far greater shift with two players missing rather than a single one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two tight-line right-armers give the balance and control that enables Starc’s left-arm speed and movement to be used more as a weapon of attack. Losing both of them means a fundamental shift in the composition of the team. Boland handling the new ball is not unusual in his domestic career, but he has been so effective in Tests entering the attack after seven or eight overs of early pressure. Now he’ll likely have to be the opening bowler.

Newcomer Faces Expectations

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at 31 years old himself won’t be an intimidated youngster, but he might become an nervous thirty-one-year-old. A packed stadium, partly English, for the first Test of a eagerly awaited Ashes series will not make for an easy debut, no matter how many media stories portray him as laid-back. He could be wheeled onto the ground on a sun lounger and still be anxious.

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It's uncertain, it might all go swimmingly for this revamped bowling lineup. It might not work out. What is striking is how rapidly Australia have transitioned from the surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the uncertainty of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. Who knows what new injuries the opening match may cause. It's unknown whether Cummins will be fit for Brisbane, and able to continue after that match, given how tricky stress injuries can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a history of going down early in series and a history of initially small injuries becoming extended absences.

Outlook Uncertain

The latter part of the series may witness the primary four bowlers reunited and all going well. Or it might see transition setting in much earlier than the long-term aim of 2027 in England. Not through Neser, who is apparently the next option and could be a excellent day-night Brisbane option, but beyond that with choices uncertain. Sean Abbott was in the initial squad, though he’s now also injured and has not yet played a Test. Richardson has just had his injury-prone arm put back on, and this format is not the place for gradually starting one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and throughout it opportunity for the visiting team. You can sense that train approaching, coming around the corner, and England hasn't seen the success since they can't recall when.