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The Ashes could provide one cause for celebration, but this series will also see the Aussie side host a greater number of birthdays than an arcade in the nineties. New boy Jake Weatherald had his thirty-first birthday a day before the squad was announced. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day preceding the Perth Test. Beau Webster reaches 32 just before the Brisbane match, 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 before January is over.

Ageing Team Interest Builds

For two or three years there has been mounting curiosity with the average age of this team and particularly the bowling unit. It is unusual to have nearly all player in a Test side being over 30, except for 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 team boasting a four-man attack with over 1,500 wickets between them is scarcely a disadvantage, and it stands to reason that all of those bowlers are well into their careers.

I can’t remember ever being so confident at the beginning of an away Ashes series | a former player

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

Transition Imposed by Setbacks

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

Now, suddenly, transition is here, imposed on this Aussie team in the space of a few weeks. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would likely only sit out the first Test, was the Cricket Australia assessment, and as the first bowling change behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could comfortably be covered for by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring injury, the balance undergoes a far greater shift with two players absent 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. Losing both of them means a major adjustment in the balance of the team. Boland handling the new ball is not unusual in his domestic career, but he has been so effective in Tests entering the attack after seven or eight overs of initial onslaught. Now he’ll probably have to be the man up front.

Newcomer Faces 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 opening Test of a eagerly awaited Ashes series will not make for an easy debut, no matter how many media stories portray him as laid-back. He could be brought onto the field on a sun lounger and still be anxious.

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It's uncertain, 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 surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the unknown 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 good to back up after that match, given how complicated stress injuries can be. Who knows how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a track record of going down early in tournaments and a history of initially small injuries turning into longer layoffs.

Future Uncertain

The back half of the series 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 seemingly the next option and could be a excellent day-night 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 injury-prone arm repaired, and this level is not the place for easing into one’s work. Beyond them lies the true uncertainty, and amid it all a chance for the visiting team. You can sense that train approaching, coming around the corner, and the English team ain’t seen the success since they don’t know when.