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The Ashes could provide a reason to cheer, but this series will also witness the Australian team celebrate a greater number of birthdays than an arcade in the 90s. Recent addition Jake Weatherald celebrated his thirty-first birthday a day prior to the squad was announced. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day before the Test in Perth. Beau Webster turns 32 just ahead of the Brisbane match, 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 before January is out.

Ageing Team Interest Builds

For two or three years there has been mounting fascination with the average age of this team and particularly the bowling attack. It is unusual to have almost every player in a Test side being over 30, except for novelty-sized mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that greater age was a problem: a Test squad boasting a four-man attack with over 1,500 wickets between them is hardly a disadvantage, and it stands to reason that all of those bowlers are deep into their professional lives.

I've never felt this sure at the beginning of an away Ashes series | a former player

Perhaps what really highlighted the discussion is that the backup bowlers over that period, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also well into their 30s. Younger bowlers have floated into teams – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before vanishing for years with injury, 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 kept on backing up. Any side knows that having a batch of same-generation players might mean a group of simultaneous departures, 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, suddenly, change is upon them, forced upon this Australian squad in the span of a short period. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would likely only miss the first Test, was the team management assessment, and as the first bowling change 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 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 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 taking the new ball is not unusual in his domestic career, but he has been so successful in Test matches coming on after seven to eight overs of early pressure. Now he’ll probably have to be the opening bowler.

Debutant Confronts Pressure

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at 31 years old himself isn't an overawed youth, but he might become an nervous thirty-one-year-old. A packed stadium, half of it English, for the opening Test of a eagerly awaited Ashes series will not make for an simple first match, no matter how many newspaper profiles portray him as relaxed. He could be brought onto the field on a sun lounger and still be anxious.

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Who knows, it might all go swimmingly for this new attack. It might not. What is notable is how quickly 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 fractures can be. Who knows how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a track record of going down early in series and a history of minor injuries turning into extended absences.

Outlook Unclear

The latter part of the series may see the primary four bowlers reunited and all performing well. Or it might experience transition setting in much earlier 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 choice, but after that with choices unclear. Sean Abbott was in the original team, though he’s now also injured and has not yet played a Test. Richardson has just had his crash-test-dummy arm put back on, and this level is not the place for gradually starting one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and amid it all a chance for the visiting team. You can sense that train a-coming, coming around the bend, and England ain’t seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.