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The Ashes may offer a reason to cheer, but this series will also see the Australian team celebrate more birthday parties than an arcade in the nineties. Recent addition Jake Weatherald had his thirty-first birthday a day before the squad was named. Nathan Lyon turns 38 the day preceding the Perth Test. Beau Webster turns 32 just before the Brisbane match, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on day two in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood becomes 35 on the fifth day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is over.

Older Squad Interest Grows

For a couple of years there has been mounting fascination 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, except for young mascot Cameron Green and custody-weekend visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that older age was a problem: a Test team boasting a four-man attack with 1,568 wickets between them is scarcely a weakness, and it stands to reason that all of those bowlers are deep 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 thirties. Younger bowlers have floated into squads – Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson – before disappearing for years with injuries, meaning there has been no clear line of succession.

Transition Imposed by Injuries

So far, that hasn’t mattered, as the Big Four plus Boland have continued backing up. Any team knows that having a group of similarly-aged players might mean a group of simultaneous retirements, but so far transition has remained theoretical: a train that would certainly be arriving the bend when she comes, but one that had not become visible.

Now, suddenly, transition is upon them, imposed on this Aussie team in the space of a short period. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would probably only sit out the first Test, was the team management assessment, and as the first bowling change behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could comfortably be replaced by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring strain, the balance experiences 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 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 composition 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 initial onslaught. Now he’ll probably have to be the man up front.

Newcomer Faces Pressure

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at 31 years old himself won’t be an overawed youth, but he might become an overawed 31-year-old. A full stadium crowd, 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 wheeled onto the ground on a sun lounger and still be anxious.

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It's uncertain, 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, and others. Who knows what further injuries the first Test may bring. Who knows whether Cummins will be good to go for Brisbane, and able to continue after that match, given how complicated stress injuries can be. Who knows how long Hazlewood might be out, with a track record of going down early in series and a history of minor injuries turning into extended absences.

Outlook Unclear

The back half of the contest may see the main four bowlers back together and all performing well. Or it might experience transition beginning much sooner than the stretch goal of 2027 in England. Not through Neser, who is apparently the next option 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 hurt and has not yet played a Test match. Richardson has just had his injury-prone arm put back on, and this level is no place for easing into one’s work. After them lies the real unknown, and throughout it opportunity for the visiting team. You can sense that train approaching, coming around the bend, and England hasn't seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.