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The historic Ashes series may offer one cause for celebration, but this contest will also witness the Aussie side celebrate more birthday parties than Timezone in the 90s. New boy Jake Weatherald had his 31st a day before the squad was announced. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day before the Perth Test. Beau Webster turns 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 by the time January is out.

Ageing Team Interest Grows

For two or three years there has been mounting curiosity with the average age of this team and particularly the bowling unit. It is rare to have almost every player in a Test team being above thirty, aside from young mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that older age was a disadvantage: a Test squad boasting a four-bowler lineup with over 1,500 wickets between them is scarcely a weakness, and it makes sense that all of those bowlers are well into their professional lives.

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Perhaps what most amplified the discussion is that the backup bowlers over that period, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also deep into their 30s. Emerging pacemen have floated into teams – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injuries, meaning there has been no obvious replacement plan.

Change Forced by Injuries

So far, that hasn’t mattered, as the Big Four plus Boland have continued performing. Any team knows that having a batch of same-generation players might mean a batch of similarly-timed retirements, but so far transition has remained theoretical: a train that would indeed be coming round the bend when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet steamed into view.

Now, suddenly, change is upon them, imposed on this Aussie team in the span of a short period. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would likely only miss the opening match, was the team management view, and as the first-change bowler behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could easily be replaced by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring strain, the team balance undergoes a far greater shift with two key bowlers 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. Losing both of them means a major adjustment in the balance of the side. Boland taking the new ball is nothing new 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 likely have to be the opening bowler.

Newcomer Faces 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 opening Test of a deliriously anticipated Ashes series will not make for an easy debut, no matter how many newspaper profiles portray him as laid-back. He could be brought onto the ground on a banana lounge and still be nervous.

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Who knows, it might all go swimmingly for this new attack. It might not work out. What is notable is how rapidly Australia have moved from the certainty of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the unknown of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. Who knows what further injuries the first Test may bring. Who knows whether Cummins will be good to go for the Brisbane Test, and good to back up after that match, given how tricky stress fractures can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a history of getting injured early in tournaments and a pattern of initially small injuries turning into extended absences.

Outlook Unclear

The back half of the contest may see the main four bowlers back together and all performing well. Or it might see transition setting in much sooner than the stretch goal of 2027 in England. Not through Neser, who is seemingly the next option and could be a great pink-ball Brisbane choice, but beyond that with choices unclear. Sean Abbott was in the original team, though he’s now also hurt 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 easing into one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and amid it all opportunity for the visiting team. You can hear that train a-coming, coming around the bend, and the English team hasn't seen the success since they can't recall when.