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The historic Ashes series may offer a reason to cheer, but this series will also witness the Aussie side celebrate more birthday parties than an arcade in the nineties. Recent addition 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 ahead of Brisbane, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on day two in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood turns 35 on the fifth day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is out.

Older Squad Interest Builds

For two or three years there has been mounting curiosity with the age of this team and especially the bowling unit. It is rare to have nearly all player in a Test side being above thirty, aside from young mascot Cameron Green and custody-weekend visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that greater age was a problem: a Test squad featuring a four-man attack with 1,568 wickets between them is hardly a disadvantage, and it stands to reason 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 backup bowlers over that period, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also well into their 30s. Younger bowlers have briefly joined teams – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injury, meaning there has been no clear line of succession.

Change Forced by Setbacks

So far, that hasn’t mattered, as the core four plus Boland have kept on backing up. Any side knows that having a batch of same-generation players might mean a group of simultaneous retirements, but so far transition has remained theoretical: a process that would indeed be coming round the bend when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet become visible.

Now, abruptly, change is here, forced upon this Aussie team in the space of a few weeks. The back injury to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would likely only miss the opening match, was the Cricket Australia assessment, and as the first-change bowler behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could easily be covered for by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring injury, the team balance undergoes a far greater change with two players missing rather than a single one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two accurate right-arm bowlers give the balance and control that enables Starc’s left-arm pace and swing to be used more as a weapon of attack. Missing both of them means a fundamental shift in the composition of the side. Boland taking the new ball is not unusual in his first-class career, but he has been so effective in Tests entering the attack after seven to eight overs of early pressure. Now he’ll probably have to be the opening bowler.

Debutant Confronts Expectations

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at 31 years old himself isn't an intimidated youngster, but he might become an overawed 31-year-old. A full stadium crowd, partly English, for the first Test of a deliriously anticipated Ashes series will not make for an easy debut, no matter how many media stories describe him as laid-back. He could be wheeled onto the field on a sun lounger and still be nervous.

Register to The Spin

It's uncertain, it might all go smoothly for this revamped bowling lineup. It might not. What is notable is how rapidly Australia have moved from the surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the unknown of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. It's unclear what new injuries the first Test may cause. Who knows whether Cummins will be fit for Brisbane, and good to back up after Brisbane, given how complicated stress fractures can be. Who knows how long Hazlewood might be out, with a history of going down early in tournaments and a pattern of minor injuries turning into longer layoffs.

Future Unclear

The latter part of the contest may witness the main four bowlers reunited and all going well. Or it might see transition beginning much earlier than the long-term aim of 2027 in England. Not through Neser, who is apparently the next option and could be a great day-night Brisbane option, but beyond that with options uncertain. Sean Abbott was in the original team, though he’s now also injured and has never played a Test. Richardson has just had his crash-test-dummy arm put back on, and this level is not the place for gradually starting one’s work. After them lies the real unknown, and throughout it opportunity for the visiting team. You can sense that train a-coming, coming around the bend, and England ain’t seen the success since they don’t know when.