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The Ashes may offer one cause for celebration, but this series will also witness the Aussie side host more birthday parties than Timezone in the 90s. New boy Jake Weatherald had his thirty-first birthday a day before the squad was named. Nathan Lyon turns 38 the day before the Test in Perth. Beau Webster reaches 32 just ahead of 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 before January is over.

Ageing Squad Interest Builds

For a couple of years there has been mounting curiosity with the average age of this team and particularly the bowling unit. It is rare to have nearly all player in a Test side being over 30, aside from young mascot Cameron Green and custody-weekend visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that greater age was a problem: a Test squad featuring a four-bowler lineup with over 1,500 wickets between them is hardly a weakness, and it makes sense that all of those bowlers are well into their professional lives.

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Perhaps what really highlighted the discussion is that the backup bowlers over that period, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are also deep into their 30s. Younger bowlers have briefly joined teams – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before vanishing for years with injuries, meaning there has been no clear line of succession.

Change Forced by Setbacks

So far, that hasn't been an issue, as the Big 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 transition has remained hypothetical: a train that would indeed be arriving the mountain when she comes, but one that had not become visible.

Now, abruptly, change is here, imposed on this Australian squad in the space of a short period. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would likely only sit out the opening match, was the Cricket Australia assessment, 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 team balance undergoes a far greater shift with two key bowlers absent rather than one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two accurate right-arm bowlers give the balance and control that allows Starc’s left-arm pace and swing 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 not unusual in his domestic career, but he has been so successful in Tests entering the attack after seven or eight overs of initial onslaught. 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 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 laid-back. He could be brought onto the ground on a banana lounge and still be anxious.

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Who knows, it might all go swimmingly for this revamped bowling lineup. It might not. What is striking is how rapidly Australia have transitioned from the certainty of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the unknown of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. It's unclear what new injuries the first Test may cause. It's unknown whether Cummins will be good to go for Brisbane, and good to back up after Brisbane, given how tricky stress injuries can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be out, with a history of going down early in tournaments and a history of minor injuries becoming longer layoffs.

Future Uncertain

The back half of the contest may see the primary four bowlers back together and all performing well. Or it might see transition beginning much sooner than the stretch goal of 2027 in the UK. Not through Neser, who is seemingly next in line and could be a excellent day-night Brisbane option, but after that with choices unclear. Sean Abbott was in the initial squad, though he’s now also injured and has not yet played a Test. Richardson has just had his injury-prone arm repaired, and this level is no place for easing into one’s work. Beyond them lies the real unknown, and amid it all a chance for the opposing side. You can sense that train approaching, coming around the bend, and the English team hasn't seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.