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The historic Ashes series could provide a reason to cheer, but this contest will also see the Australian team host more birthday parties than an arcade in the 90s. Recent addition Jake Weatherald had his 31st a day prior to the squad was named. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day before the Perth Test. Beau Webster turns 32 just ahead of Brisbane, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on the second day in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood turns 35 on the final day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is over.

Ageing Team Fascination Grows

For a couple of years there has been mounting fascination with the age of this side and particularly the bowling attack. It is rare to have nearly all player near a Test side being above thirty, aside from novelty-sized mascot Cameron Green and custody-weekend visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that greater age was a problem: a Test squad boasting a four-man attack with 1,568 wickets between them is hardly a disadvantage, and it makes sense that all of those bowlers are well 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. Emerging pacemen have floated into 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 core four plus Boland have kept on backing up. Any team knows that having a batch of similarly-aged players might mean a batch of simultaneous retirements, but so far change has remained hypothetical: a train that would certainly be coming round the bend when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet become visible.

Now, abruptly, change is here, forced upon this Australian squad in the space of a few weeks. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would probably only sit out the first Test, was the Cricket Australia 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 strain, the balance undergoes a much more significant shift with two key bowlers missing rather than a single one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two accurate right-arm bowlers give the stability and precision that allows Starc’s left-arm pace and swing to be used more as a attacking option. Missing both of them means a fundamental shift in the composition 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 or eight overs of initial onslaught. Now he’ll likely have to be the opening bowler.

Debutant Confronts 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 easy debut, no matter how many newspaper profiles portray him as relaxed. He could be wheeled onto the field on a sun lounger and still be nervous.

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It's uncertain, it might all go smoothly for this revamped bowling lineup. It might not. What is striking is how quickly Australia have transitioned from the surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the unknown of Starc, Lyon, and others. Who knows what new injuries the opening match may cause. Who knows whether Cummins will be good to go for Brisbane, and able to continue after Brisbane, given how complicated stress injuries can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a history of getting injured early in series and a pattern of initially small injuries becoming extended absences.

Future Uncertain

The back half of the contest may see the main four bowlers reunited and all performing well. Or it might experience transition setting in much sooner than the long-term aim of 2027 in the UK. Not through Neser, who is apparently next in line 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 not yet played a Test match. Richardson has just had his crash-test-dummy arm repaired, and this format is not the place for easing into one’s work. Beyond them lies the true uncertainty, and throughout it a chance for the visiting team. You can sense that train a-coming, coming around the bend, and the English team hasn't seen the sunshine since they don’t know when.