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The Ashes may offer one cause for celebration, but this contest will also see the Aussie side celebrate a greater number of birthdays than Timezone in the nineties. Recent addition Jake Weatherald celebrated his 31st a day before the team was named. Nathan Lyon turns 38 the day before the Test in Perth. Beau Webster reaches 32 just ahead of the Brisbane match, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on the second day in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood turns 35 on the final day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is out.

Ageing Squad Fascination Grows

For two or three years there has been growing fascination with the age of this team and especially the bowling unit. It is rare to have nearly all player in a Test side being over 30, except for novelty-sized mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it wasn't necessarily true that older age was a disadvantage: a Test squad boasting a four-bowler lineup with over 1,500 wickets between them is hardly a weakness, and it stands to reason that all of those bowlers are well into their professional lives.

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

Change Forced by Setbacks

So far, that hasn't been an issue, as the core four plus Boland have continued backing up. Any team knows that having a group of similarly-aged players might mean a group of similarly-timed retirements, but so far change has remained theoretical: a process that would indeed be coming round the mountain when she comes, but one that had not become visible.

Now, suddenly, transition is upon them, imposed on this Aussie team in the span of a few weeks. The spinal issue to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would likely only sit out the first Test, was the team management assessment, and as the first-change bowler behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could easily be replaced by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring strain, the team balance undergoes a far greater change with two key bowlers missing rather than one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two tight-line right-armers give the stability and precision that allows 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 composition of the side. Boland taking the new ball is not unusual in his domestic career, but he has been so effective in Tests entering the attack after seven to eight overs of initial onslaught. Now he’ll likely have to be the opening bowler.

Debutant Confronts Expectations

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 full stadium crowd, half of it English, for the first Test of a deliriously anticipated Ashes series will not make for an easy debut, no matter how many newspaper profiles describe him as laid-back. 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 revamped bowling lineup. It might not work out. What is notable is how quickly Australia have moved from the surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the unknown of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. Who knows what new injuries the first Test may cause. It's unknown whether Cummins will be good to go for the Brisbane Test, and able to continue after Brisbane, given how complicated stress injuries can be. It's uncertain how long Hazlewood might be out, with a track record of going down early in tournaments and a pattern of initially small injuries turning into extended absences.

Future Uncertain

The latter part of the contest may witness the primary four bowlers back together and all performing well. Or it might experience transition setting in much sooner than the long-term aim of 2027 in the UK. Not through Neser, who is seemingly next in line and could be a excellent pink-ball Brisbane choice, but beyond that with choices unclear. Sean Abbott was in the original team, though he’s now also injured and has not yet played a Test match. Richardson has just had his crash-test-dummy arm repaired, and this level is not the place for easing into one’s work. Beyond them lies the true uncertainty, and amid it all opportunity for the visiting team. You can hear that change a-coming, coming around the corner, and the English team ain’t seen the sunshine since they don’t know when.