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The historic Ashes series may offer a reason to cheer, but this series will also witness the Australian team host a greater number of birthdays than Timezone in the 90s. Recent addition Jake Weatherald had his thirty-first birthday a day before the squad was announced. Nathan Lyon turns 38 the day before the Test in Perth. Beau Webster turns 32 just before Brisbane, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on the second day in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood becomes 35 on the final day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is over.

Ageing Squad Fascination Builds

For two or three years there has been mounting curiosity with the age of this side and particularly the bowling unit. It is rare to have nearly all player in a Test team being above thirty, except for young mascot Cameron Green and custody-weekend visitor Sam Konstas. But it wasn't necessarily true that older age was a problem: a Test squad boasting a four-man attack with over 1,500 wickets between them is scarcely a weakness, and it makes sense that all of those bowlers are well into their careers.

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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 thirties. Emerging pacemen have briefly joined teams – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injuries, meaning there has been no obvious replacement plan.

Transition 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 group of similarly-aged players might mean a batch of simultaneous retirements, but so far transition has remained hypothetical: a train that would indeed be arriving the mountain when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet become visible.

Now, abruptly, change is upon them, forced upon this Aussie team in the space of a few weeks. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would probably only miss the opening match, was the team management view, and as the first-change bowler behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could easily be covered for by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, the 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 attacking option. Losing both of them means a fundamental shift in the composition 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 or eight overs of initial onslaught. Now he’ll probably 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, half of it English, for the opening Test of a deliriously anticipated Ashes series will not make for an simple first match, no matter how many newspaper profiles describe him as laid-back. He could be wheeled onto the ground on a sun lounger and still be nervous.

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Who knows, it might all go smoothly for this revamped bowling lineup. It might not work out. What is notable is how quickly Australia have transitioned from the certainty of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the uncertainty of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. Who knows what new injuries the opening match may bring. Who knows whether Cummins will be good to go for Brisbane, and able to continue after Brisbane, given how complicated stress fractures can be. Who knows how long Hazlewood might be out, with a history of going down early in tournaments and a pattern of minor injuries becoming extended absences.

Outlook Unclear

The back half of the series may witness the primary four bowlers back together and all going well. Or it might experience transition setting in much earlier than the stretch goal of 2027 in the UK. Not through Neser, who is apparently next in line and could be a great pink-ball Brisbane choice, but beyond that with options uncertain. Sean Abbott was in the initial squad, though he’s now also hurt and has never played a Test. Richardson has just had his injury-prone arm repaired, and this level is not the place for gradually starting one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and amid it all opportunity for the opposing side. You can hear that train approaching, rolling round the corner, and England ain’t seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.