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Australia’s team for the first Ashes Test had an average age of 31, with six players 33 or older. They looked decidedly cumbersome in the field in comparison to England, whose average age was just 27.
There is an argument to be made that, in a series as big as this one, age should not be a consideration at the selection table – pick your best XI regardless of how old, or young, they may be.
That seemed to be the theory behind including 35-year-old batsman Adam Voges first in the Australian Ashes squad and then in the XI for the Cardiff Test.
There were no young batsmen who had put up similar numbers in domestic cricket the past two years.
Australia must be mindful, though, of taking the opportunity to fast track the transition of this ageing side when it presents itself. Neither Brad Haddin nor Shane Watson, omitted from the team at Lord’s for different reasons, have justified their position for a long time now.
Haddin’s keeping largely has been neat but his batting has been calamitous, while Watson has struggled with both bat and ball.
Yet it is possible both could be back in the side again in the near future at the expense of their far younger and more in-form replacements for this Test – gloveman Peter Nevill and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
The 34-year-old Watson has been dropped for Marsh for the first time, however coach Darren Lehmann swiftly hinted the veteran would remain in contention to come back into the line-up this series.
Haddin’s absence at Lord’s has been for far more unfortunate reasons, reportedly due to the health of his young daughter. The 37-year-old had a horror Test at Cardiff, dropping eventual centurion Joe Root on 0 and continuing his long and deep form trough with the blade.
It would be a tough call to end Haddin’s career on such a sad note but with the Ashes at stake there is no room for sentimentality. Haddin should have been given a home farewell last summer. Instead, the selectors have let his career drag on in spite of overwhelming evidence he was well past his best.
Nevill completed a sprightly knock of 45 from 59 balls in the first innings as Australia accelerated towards a declaration.
Admittedly, the pitch and circumstances were very generous, but the 29-year-old New South Welshman looked much more compact and assured than Haddin has since the last Ashes 18 months ago.
Since then, Haddin has averaged a meagre 15 with the bat from 12 Tests. To make matters worse, regularly he has gifted the opposition his wicket with outrageously aggressive strokes early in his innings.
The promotion of Steve Smith to first drop has greatly strengthened Australia’s top order. Now it is their middle order which is a problem.
A number seven who puts a lofty price on his wicket like Nevill is just what is needed to shore things up.
Nevill has plundered 1236 runs at 56, including three centuries, over the past two Sheffield Shield seasons. Significantly, he is not a cavalier strokemaker in the mold of Haddin or Adam Gilchrist.
Rather he is a grafting player who is happy to work long and hard for his runs. Australia already have ample dynamic players in their top six and also in their tail, where the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc love to attack.
Australia should stick with Nevill, just as they should forget about Watson and give Marsh the kind of extended run in the team typically needed for such a young player to have a fair chance to adapt to the top level.
Since the start of the 2013-14 summer, the 23-year-old has made 1257 first-class runs at an average of 52, including a pair of dominant tons in the warm-up games on this tour.
His bowling is unfairly maligned. While he may not be as swift as England all-rounder Ben Stokes, he showed in the first session overnight that he can be a crafty and effective operator as he took the crucial wicket of Stokes.
It also should be noted that Marsh has bowled within himself during his five Tests as he’s been spooked by a spate of injuries.
Marsh previously was capable of operating consistently in the 135-140km/h bracket while occasionally pushing the speed gun up to 145km/h.
Once he regains confidence in his body it would seem likely he will begin to let himself go and reach such speeds again.
What he needs now is patience from the selectors. They should not look for a reason to return to Watson and Haddin, and instead back Marsh and Nevill to help Australia move on from a veteran-dominated era.