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The historic Ashes series may offer one cause for celebration, but this contest will also witness the Australian team celebrate more birthday parties than Timezone in the 90s. Recent addition Jake Weatherald had his 31st a day prior to the team was announced. Nathan Lyon turns 38 the day preceding the Test in Perth. Beau Webster turns 32 just ahead of Brisbane, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on day two in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood turns 35 on the final day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 before January is over.

Older Squad Fascination Grows

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

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Perhaps what really highlighted the talking point is that the reserve players over that period, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also deep into their 30s. Younger bowlers have floated into squads – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injury, meaning there has been no obvious replacement plan.

Change Imposed by Injuries

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 simultaneous retirements, but so far transition has remained theoretical: a process that would indeed be arriving the mountain when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet become visible.

Now, suddenly, change is here, forced upon this Aussie team in the space of a few weeks. The back injury to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would probably only sit out the opening match, was the Cricket Australia view, and as the first-change bowler behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could comfortably be replaced by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, the team balance undergoes a far greater change with two players 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 pace and swing to be used more as a weapon of attack. Losing both of them means a major adjustment in the balance of the side. Boland taking the new ball is not unusual in his first-class career, but he has been so successful in Test matches coming on after seven to eight overs of early pressure. Now he’ll likely have to be the opening bowler.

Newcomer 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 full stadium crowd, 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 media stories portray him as relaxed. He could be brought onto the field 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. 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 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 injuries can be. Who knows how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a track record of getting injured early in series and a history of initially small injuries becoming extended absences.

Future Uncertain

The latter part of the contest may see the main four bowlers back together and all performing well. Or it might see transition beginning much sooner than the long-term aim of 2027 in England. Not through Neser, who is seemingly next in line and could be a great day-night Brisbane choice, but beyond that with options 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 injury-prone arm put back on, and this format is no place for gradually starting one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and throughout it opportunity for the visiting team. You can hear that change approaching, rolling round the corner, and the English team ain’t seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.