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The historic Ashes series may offer a reason to cheer, but this series will also see the Australian team celebrate a greater number of birthdays than Timezone in the nineties. New boy Jake Weatherald had his thirty-first birthday a day prior to the team was announced. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day before the Test in Perth. Beau Webster reaches 32 just before Brisbane, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on the second day in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood becomes 35 on the fifth day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is out.

Ageing Squad Interest Builds

For a couple of years there has been growing fascination with the age of this side and especially the bowling unit. It is unusual to have almost every player near a Test team being above thirty, except for young mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that older age was a problem: a Test team 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 discussion is that the reserve players over that time, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also well into their thirties. Emerging pacemen have floated into squads – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injuries, meaning there has been no obvious replacement plan.

Change Imposed by Setbacks

So far, that hasn't been an issue, as the Big Four plus Boland have continued backing up. Any side knows that having a batch of same-generation players might mean a batch of simultaneous retirements, but so far transition has remained hypothetical: a train 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 span of a short period. The back injury to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would likely only miss the opening match, was the team management assessment, and as the first-change bowler behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could comfortably be replaced by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring injury, the balance undergoes a much more significant change with two key bowlers 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. Missing both of them means a fundamental shift in the balance of the team. Boland handling the new ball is nothing new in his domestic career, but he has been so successful in Test matches coming on after seven to eight overs of initial onslaught. Now he’ll probably have to be the opening bowler.

Newcomer Confronts Expectations

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at thirty-one years of age himself won’t be an intimidated youngster, but he might become an overawed 31-year-old. A packed stadium, half of it English, for the opening Test of a deliriously anticipated Ashes series will not make for an easy debut, no matter how many newspaper profiles describe him as laid-back. He could be brought onto the field on a sun lounger and still be nervous.

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Who knows, it might all go swimmingly for this revamped bowling lineup. It might not work out. What is striking is how rapidly Australia have moved from the certainty of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the uncertainty of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. It's unclear what further injuries the opening match may cause. It's unknown whether Cummins will be good to go for Brisbane, and able to continue after that match, given how tricky stress injuries can be. Who knows how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a history of going down early in series and a pattern of initially small injuries becoming longer layoffs.

Outlook Uncertain

The latter part of the series may witness the primary four bowlers back together and all going well. Or it might see transition beginning much earlier than the long-term aim of 2027 in the UK. Not through Neser, who is seemingly next in line and could be a great pink-ball Brisbane option, but beyond that with options unclear. Sean Abbott was in the initial squad, though he’s now also hurt and has not yet played a Test. Richardson has just had his crash-test-dummy arm repaired, and this format is no place for gradually starting one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and throughout it a chance for the visiting team. You can sense that change approaching, rolling round the bend, and the English team ain’t seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.