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The historic Ashes series could provide one cause for celebration, but this series will also see the Australian team celebrate a greater number of birthdays than Timezone in the 90s. New boy Jake Weatherald celebrated his 31st a day prior to the team was named. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day before the Perth Test. Beau Webster turns 32 just ahead of the Brisbane match, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on the second day in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood becomes 35 on the final day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is over.

Ageing Squad Fascination Builds

For two or three years there has been growing curiosity with the average age of this side and especially the bowling attack. It is rare to have almost every player near a Test team being above thirty, aside from novelty-sized mascot Cameron Green and custody-weekend visitor Sam Konstas. But it wasn't necessarily true that older age was a disadvantage: a Test team boasting a four-man attack with over 1,500 wickets between them is hardly a disadvantage, 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 well into their 30s. Younger bowlers have floated into squads – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injuries, meaning there has been no obvious replacement plan.

Transition Imposed by Setbacks

So far, that hasn't been an issue, as the Big Four plus Boland have continued backing up. Any team knows that having a batch of same-generation players might mean a group of similarly-timed retirements, but so far change has remained hypothetical: a train that would certainly be arriving the mountain when she comes, but one that had not steamed into view.

Now, suddenly, change is here, imposed on this Australian squad in the space of a short period. The back injury to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would likely only sit out the opening match, was the Cricket Australia view, and as the first bowling change behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could easily be covered for by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring injury, the balance undergoes a much more significant change with two players absent rather than a single one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two tight-line right-armers give the balance and control that allows Starc’s left-arm pace and swing to be used more as a attacking option. Losing both of them means a major adjustment in the balance of the team. Boland handling the new ball is nothing new in his domestic career, but he has been so effective in Tests coming on after seven to eight overs of early pressure. Now he’ll likely have to be the opening bowler.

Newcomer Faces Pressure

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at thirty-one years of age himself isn't an overawed youth, but he might become an overawed 31-year-old. A packed stadium, half of it English, for the first Test of a eagerly awaited Ashes series will not make for an simple first match, no matter how many newspaper profiles portray him as relaxed. He could be brought onto the ground on a banana lounge and still be anxious.

Register to The Spin

Who knows, it might all go swimmingly for this new attack. It might not work out. What is notable is how rapidly Australia have transitioned from the surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the uncertainty of Starc, Lyon, and others. Who knows what new injuries the opening match may bring. It's unknown whether Cummins will be good to go for Brisbane, and able to continue after that match, given how tricky stress fractures can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be out, with a track record of getting injured early in series and a history of initially small injuries becoming extended absences.

Future Unclear

The latter part of the contest may witness the primary four bowlers reunited and all performing well. Or it might experience transition beginning much earlier than the long-term aim of 2027 in England. Not through Neser, who is seemingly next in line and could be a great pink-ball Brisbane choice, 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 level is no place for gradually starting one’s work. After them lies the real unknown, and amid it all a chance for the opposing side. You can hear that train a-coming, rolling round the corner, and England hasn't seen the sunshine since they don’t know when.