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The Ashes may offer a reason to cheer, but this contest will also witness the Aussie side celebrate more birthday parties than an arcade in the nineties. Recent addition Jake Weatherald had his 31st a day prior to the team was named. Nathan Lyon turns 38 the day before the Perth Test. Beau Webster reaches 32 just before 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 by the time January is out.

Older Squad Fascination Builds

For a couple of years there has been growing curiosity with the average age of this team and especially the bowling attack. It is rare to have nearly all player near a Test team being above thirty, aside from young mascot Cameron Green and occasional visitor Sam Konstas. But it wasn't necessarily true that older age was a problem: a Test team 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.

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

Perhaps what really highlighted the talking point is that the reserve players 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 injury, meaning there has been no clear line of succession.

Change Imposed by Injuries

So far, that hasn't been an issue, as the Big Four plus Boland have continued backing up. Any side knows that having a batch of similarly-aged players might mean a group of similarly-timed retirements, but so far transition has remained hypothetical: a train that would certainly be arriving the bend when she comes, but one that hadn’t yet steamed into view.

Now, abruptly, change is here, imposed on this Australian squad in the span of a few weeks. The back injury to Pat Cummins was taken in stride: he would likely only miss the first Test, was the Cricket Australia assessment, and as the first-change bowler behind Starc and Hazlewood, he could comfortably be covered for by Boland.

But now that Hazlewood has gone down with a hamstring injury, the balance undergoes 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 stability and precision that allows Starc’s left-arm pace and swing to be used more as a attacking option. Losing both of them means a major adjustment in the balance of the team. Boland handling the new ball is nothing new in his domestic career, but he has been so successful in Test matches coming on after seven to eight overs of initial onslaught. Now he’ll probably have to be the opening bowler.

Debutant Faces Pressure

Behind him will come Brendan Doggett, who at 31 years old himself isn't an intimidated youngster, but he might become an overawed 31-year-old. A packed stadium, partly English, for the opening Test of a deliriously anticipated Ashes series will not make for an simple first match, no matter how many newspaper profiles describe him as laid-back. He could be wheeled onto the ground on a sun lounger and still be anxious.

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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 rapidly Australia have transitioned from the surety of Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood to the uncertainty of Starc, Lyon, and others. It's unclear what further injuries the opening match 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 series and a pattern of initially small injuries becoming extended absences.

Future Uncertain

The latter part of the contest may see the main four bowlers back together and all going well. Or it might experience transition setting in much earlier than the stretch goal of 2027 in the UK. Not through Neser, who is apparently 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 hurt and has not yet played a Test. Richardson has just had his injury-prone arm put back on, and this format is no place for easing into one’s work. After them lies the true uncertainty, and amid it all a chance for the visiting team. You can hear that train approaching, coming around the bend, and England ain’t seen the sunshine since they can't recall when.