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The Ashes could provide a reason to cheer, but this series will also see the Aussie side celebrate a greater number of birthdays than Timezone in the 90s. Recent addition Jake Weatherald celebrated his thirty-first birthday a day before the squad was named. Nathan Lyon turns 38 the day preceding the Perth Test. Beau Webster reaches 32 just before Brisbane, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on day two in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood becomes 35 on the final day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 before January is over.

Older Squad Interest Builds

For two or three years there has been growing curiosity with the average age of this team and especially the bowling attack. It is unusual to have almost every player in a Test team being above thirty, aside from 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 featuring a four-bowler lineup with over 1,500 wickets between them is hardly a disadvantage, and it stands to reason that all of those bowlers are well into their careers.

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

Perhaps what really highlighted the talking point is that the backup bowlers over that time, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also deep into their thirties. Emerging pacemen have floated into squads – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injury, meaning there has been no clear line of succession.

Transition Forced by Setbacks

So far, that hasn’t mattered, as the core four plus Boland have continued backing up. Any team knows that having a batch of same-generation players might mean a group of similarly-timed departures, but so far change has remained hypothetical: a process that would indeed be coming round the mountain when she comes, but one that had not become visible.

Now, suddenly, change is here, imposed on this Aussie team in the space of a few weeks. The back injury to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would probably only miss the first Test, was the Cricket Australia assessment, and as the first bowling change behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could easily be replaced by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, the team balance undergoes a much more significant shift with two players missing rather than one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two accurate right-arm bowlers give the balance and control that allows Starc’s left-arm speed and movement to be used more as a weapon of attack. Missing both of them means a fundamental shift in the balance of the side. Boland handling the new ball is nothing new in his domestic career, but he has been so successful in Tests entering the attack 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 won’t be an intimidated youngster, but he might become an nervous thirty-one-year-old. A packed stadium, partly 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 striking 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 new injuries the opening match may bring. It's unknown whether Cummins will be fit for Brisbane, and good to back up after that match, given how tricky stress fractures can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be sidelined, with a track record of going down early in tournaments and a pattern of initially small injuries becoming extended absences.

Future Uncertain

The back half of the series may witness the primary four bowlers reunited 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 apparently next in line and could be a excellent pink-ball Brisbane option, but beyond that with options unclear. Sean Abbott was in the initial squad, though he’s now also injured and has not yet played a Test match. Richardson has just had his crash-test-dummy arm put back on, and this format is not the place for easing into one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and amid it all opportunity for the visiting team. You can hear that change approaching, rolling round the bend, and England ain’t seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.