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The historic Ashes series could provide one cause for celebration, but this contest will also see the Aussie side host a greater number of birthdays than an arcade in the 90s. Recent addition Jake Weatherald celebrated his thirty-first birthday a day prior to the team was named. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day before the Test in Perth. Beau Webster reaches 32 just before Brisbane, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on day two in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood turns 35 on the final day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 before January is out.

Ageing Squad Fascination Grows

For a couple of years there has been growing fascination with the average age of this team and particularly the bowling attack. It is unusual to have nearly all player near a Test team being over 30, aside from young mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it wasn't necessarily true that older age was a disadvantage: a Test squad boasting a four-bowler lineup with 1,568 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 backup bowlers over that period, 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 injury, meaning there has been no clear line of succession.

Change Imposed by Setbacks

So far, that hasn’t mattered, as the Big Four plus Boland have kept on performing. Any side knows that having a group of same-generation players might mean a group of similarly-timed retirements, but so far transition has remained hypothetical: a process that would indeed be coming round the mountain when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet steamed into view.

Now, abruptly, change is here, imposed on this Australian squad in the span of a short period. The back injury to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would probably only sit out the first Test, was the Cricket Australia assessment, and as the first bowling change behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could easily be replaced by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring injury, the team 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 attacking option. Losing both of them means a major adjustment in the balance of the side. Boland handling the new ball is not unusual in his first-class 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.

Debutant Confronts Expectations

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

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It's uncertain, it might all go smoothly for this new attack. It might not. What is striking is how quickly Australia have moved from the certainty of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the uncertainty of Starc, Lyon, and others. It's unclear what new injuries the first Test may cause. It's unknown whether Cummins will be good to go for the Brisbane Test, and able to continue after Brisbane, given how tricky stress fractures can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be out, with a track record of going down early in tournaments and a history of minor injuries becoming longer layoffs.

Outlook Uncertain

The back half of the series may witness the main four bowlers back together and all performing well. Or it might see transition setting in much sooner than the long-term aim of 2027 in the UK. Not through Neser, who is apparently the next option and could be a excellent day-night Brisbane choice, but beyond that with choices unclear. Sean Abbott was in the original team, though he’s now also hurt and has not yet played a Test match. Richardson has just had his crash-test-dummy arm put back on, and this format is not the place for easing into one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and amid it all a chance for the visiting team. You can sense that train approaching, coming around the bend, and the English team hasn't seen the success since they don’t know when.