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The historic Ashes series could provide a reason to cheer, but this series will also see the Aussie side host more birthday parties than Timezone in the nineties. Recent addition Jake Weatherald had his thirty-first birthday a day before the team was announced. Nathan Lyon turns 38 the day preceding the Test in Perth. Beau Webster turns 32 just before Brisbane, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on the second day in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood turns 35 on the fifth day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is out.

Older Squad Fascination Builds

For two or three years there has been mounting curiosity with the age of this side and especially the bowling unit. It is rare to have almost every player in a Test team being over 30, aside from young mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it wasn't necessarily true that older age was a disadvantage: a Test squad boasting a four-man attack with over 1,500 wickets between them is scarcely a disadvantage, and it makes sense that all of those bowlers are well into their professional lives.

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

Perhaps what really highlighted the discussion is that the reserve players over that time, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also deep into their 30s. Younger bowlers have briefly joined squads – 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 been an issue, as the Big Four plus Boland have continued backing up. Any side knows that having a group of same-generation players might mean a batch of similarly-timed departures, but so far change has remained hypothetical: a train that would indeed be arriving the bend when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet steamed into view.

Now, suddenly, transition is upon them, forced upon this Australian squad in the space of a few weeks. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would likely only sit out the first Test, was the Cricket Australia view, and as the first-change bowler 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 much more significant shift with two key bowlers missing rather than one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two tight-line right-armers give the balance and control that enables Starc’s left-arm pace and swing to be used more as a weapon of attack. Losing both of them means a fundamental shift in the balance of the team. Boland handling the new ball is not unusual in his first-class career, but he has been so successful in Tests entering the attack after seven or eight overs of early pressure. Now he’ll likely have to be the opening bowler.

Newcomer Faces Pressure

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at 31 years old himself isn't an intimidated youngster, but he might become an overawed 31-year-old. A packed stadium, partly English, for the opening Test of a deliriously anticipated Ashes series will not make for an easy debut, no matter how many media stories portray him as relaxed. He could be brought onto the ground on a banana lounge and still be nervous.

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Who knows, it might all go smoothly for this new attack. 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. It's unclear what further injuries the opening match may bring. It's unknown whether Cummins will be good to go for the Brisbane Test, and able to continue after Brisbane, given how tricky stress fractures can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a track record of getting injured early in series and a pattern of minor injuries turning into extended absences.

Future Uncertain

The latter part of the series may see the primary four bowlers back together and all performing well. Or it might experience transition beginning much sooner than the long-term aim of 2027 in England. Not through Neser, who is apparently 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 match. Richardson has just had his injury-prone arm put back on, and this format is no place for gradually starting one’s work. After them lies the real unknown, and throughout it a chance for the visiting team. You can sense that change a-coming, coming around the bend, and the English team hasn't seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.