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The Ashes could provide a reason to cheer, but this contest will also witness the Australian team host a greater number of birthdays than an arcade in the nineties. Recent addition Jake Weatherald had his thirty-first birthday a day prior to the squad was announced. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day preceding the Test in Perth. Beau Webster reaches 32 just before the Brisbane match, 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 by the time January is over.

Older Squad Interest Builds

For a couple of years there has been mounting curiosity with the age of this side and particularly the bowling unit. It is rare to have almost every player near a Test side being above thirty, except for novelty-sized mascot Cameron Green and custody-weekend visitor Sam Konstas. But it wasn't necessarily true that older age was a problem: a Test squad featuring a four-bowler lineup with 1,568 wickets between them is scarcely a weakness, and it makes sense that all of those bowlers are deep into their careers.

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Perhaps what really highlighted the discussion is that the reserve players 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 obvious replacement plan.

Change Forced by Injuries

So far, that hasn't been an issue, as the Big Four plus Boland have continued performing. Any side knows that having a group of similarly-aged players might mean a group of simultaneous departures, but so far change has remained theoretical: a train that would certainly be coming round the mountain when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet steamed into view.

Now, abruptly, change is here, forced upon this Aussie team in the space of a short period. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was greeted with equanimity: he would likely only miss the opening match, 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 team balance experiences a far greater shift with two players absent 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 attacking option. Missing both of them means a fundamental shift in the balance of the side. Boland handling the new ball is nothing new in his first-class career, but he has been so successful in Tests entering the attack after seven or 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 thirty-one years of age himself won’t be an intimidated youngster, but he might become an overawed 31-year-old. A packed stadium, half of it English, for the first Test of a eagerly awaited Ashes series will not make for an easy debut, no matter how many media stories portray him as relaxed. He could be wheeled onto the field on a banana lounge and still be anxious.

Sign up to The Spin

Who knows, it might all go swimmingly for this revamped bowling lineup. It might not work out. What is striking is how quickly Australia have transitioned from the surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the uncertainty of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. Who knows what new injuries the first Test may bring. It's unknown whether Cummins will be fit for Brisbane, and able to continue after Brisbane, given how complicated stress fractures can be. Who knows how long Hazlewood might be out, with a track record of getting injured early in series and a history of minor injuries turning into extended absences.

Future Unclear

The latter part of the contest may witness the primary four bowlers reunited 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 seemingly the next option 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 hurt and has not yet played a Test. Richardson has just had his crash-test-dummy arm repaired, and this level is not the place for easing into one’s work. After them lies the true uncertainty, and amid it all opportunity for the visiting team. You can hear that train approaching, coming around the corner, and the English team ain’t seen the success since they don’t know when.