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The Ashes may offer one cause for celebration, but this series will also see the Australian team celebrate more birthday parties than Timezone in the 90s. New boy Jake Weatherald had his 31st a day prior to the team was named. Nathan Lyon celebrates 38 the day before the Test in Perth. Beau Webster turns 32 just ahead of the Brisbane match, Usman Khawaja will be 39 on day two in Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood turns 35 on the fifth day in Sydney, and Mitchell Starc will be 36 by the time January is over.

Older Squad Interest Builds

For two or three years there has been growing curiosity with the age of this team and particularly the bowling attack. It is unusual to have almost every player near a Test team being above thirty, aside from novelty-sized mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it wasn't necessarily true that older age was a problem: a Test squad featuring a four-man attack with 1,568 wickets between them is hardly a disadvantage, and it stands to reason that all of those bowlers are well into their professional lives.

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

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

Transition Imposed by Injuries

So far, that hasn't been an issue, as the Big Four plus Boland have kept on performing. Any side knows that having a group of same-generation players might mean a batch of similarly-timed departures, but so far change has remained theoretical: a train that would certainly be coming round the mountain when she comes, but one that had not become visible.

Now, suddenly, transition is upon them, forced upon this Australian squad in the space of a short period. The back injury to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would likely only sit out 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 strain, the balance undergoes a far greater shift with two players missing rather than a single one. Cummins and Hazlewood as the two accurate right-arm bowlers give the stability and precision that allows Starc’s left-arm pace and swing to be used more as a attacking option. Missing both of them means a major adjustment in the composition of the side. Boland handling the new ball is not unusual in his domestic career, but he has been so effective in Tests entering the attack after seven or eight overs of early pressure. Now he’ll probably have to be the opening bowler.

Newcomer Faces Pressure

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at thirty-one years of age himself isn't an intimidated youngster, but he might become an overawed 31-year-old. A packed stadium, partly English, for the first Test of a eagerly awaited 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 ground on a banana lounge and still be nervous.

Register to The Spin

It's uncertain, it might all go swimmingly for this new attack. It might not. What is striking is how quickly Australia have moved from the surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the uncertainty of Starc, Lyon, mumble mumble. It's unclear what new injuries the first Test may cause. Who knows whether Cummins will be fit for the Brisbane Test, and good to back up after that match, 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 pattern of initially small injuries turning into longer layoffs.

Outlook Unclear

The latter part of the contest may witness the primary four bowlers reunited and all going well. Or it might see transition beginning much earlier than the long-term aim of 2027 in the UK. Not through Neser, who is apparently next in line and could be a great pink-ball Brisbane choice, but beyond that with options unclear. Sean Abbott was in the initial squad, though he’s now also hurt 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 throughout it opportunity for the opposing side. You can sense that train approaching, rolling round the bend, and England ain’t seen the sunshine since they don’t know when.