As the dust settles on one of the most remarkable Ashes contests of all time, Australia‘s men’s cricketers have returned home with the urn in their back pocket.
While it was mission accomplished for Pat Cummins‘ men in the sense of returning with the World Test Championship mace and the Ashes, the overseas odyssey to win both prizes as the last hurrah for this era came up just short of everything they really wanted.
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Aussies crumble to falter in 5th Test | 01:57
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The conclusion of The Oval brought a sparkling series to its climax.
England bid farewell to Stuart Broad, who announced his retirement from Test cricket, Moeen Ali went back into red-ball retirement, and their evergreen paceman James Anderson, who ran into bowl on his 41st birthday, played what could be his last Ashes outing.
For Australia and this group of players, The Oval Test marks the end of an era.
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon all completed their fourth Ashes tour. Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Marsh their third. All are north of 30 years of age and entering the final stanzas of their glittering careers.
Warner has already flagged his end date, if he can make it there, and while rumours surrounded a potential Smith retirement before he definitively dismissed them.
It‘s left the selectors in a tricky spot ahead of a summer which will start to see the transition of a Test team that has been largely stable since 2015.
There have been moments when finding an opening partner for Warner had resembled a constant revolving door. Settling on a wicketkeeper for key series and snap reincarnations of the team have led to a change behind the stumps. But by and large, the core of the current Test group has been together for close to a decade.
It‘s a scene reminiscent of the summer of 06/07. Australia had just completed the first of their two Ashes whitewashes this century and sent off all-time greats Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer that match.
The fort was held with no retirements through the India series the following summer but Brett Lee and Matthew Hayden followed after the home defeat to South Africa.
Two years after, Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey called it a day, shutting the door on the country‘s finest era.
It‘s a very similar situation now with a generation of cricketers planning when they will ride off into the sunset.
They can‘t all go at once.
The batting group is stable but requires the next generation to fill the void left by the big stars at the top of the order.
Warner, Khawaja and Smith have combined for 46 per cent of the last 50 Test centuries scored by Australians with both Smith and Warner sitting in the top handful of most prolific run and hundred scorers in the country‘s history.
Since his recall at the start of 2022, Khawaja has amassed more than 2,000 Test runs with seven centuries in what has been a stunning final chapter in his late career renaissance.
Last 50 Test centuries made by Australians
Marnus Labuschagne 11
Steve Smith 10
Usman Khawaja 9
Travis Head 6
David Warner 4
Mitchell Marsh 2
Matthew Wade 2
Cameron Green 1
Alex Carey 1
Joe Burns 1
Kurtis Patterson 1
The bowling cartel has been settled and reliable, with the big three quicks and Nathan Lyon combining for 82 per cent of the last 50 five-wicket hauls for Australia.
Injuries, conditions and rotation have allowed for a deeper contribution throughout the bowling unit, but it cannot be undersold how keenly Australia will feel the absence of the quartet once they decide to call it a day.
Last 50 Five-wicket hauls taken by Australians
Nathan Lyon 16
Mitchell Starc 10
Pat Cummins 8
Josh Hazelwood 7
Steve O‘Keefe 2
Jhye Richardson 1
Jackson Bird 1
James Pattinson 1
Mitchell Marsh 1
Cameron Green 1
Scott Boland 1
Todd Murphy 1
Matt Kuhnemann 1
This is why the next moves from a selection point of view have to be well thought and calculated.
To ensure that the team isn’t caught in a state of flux while it goes through its transition, it leaves the selectors some interesting conversations to be had.
The first will be about when to bring in the new opener and if Warner will get his fairy-tale ending or if Matthew Renshaw or Marcus Harris will be given the whole summer to cement their spot at the top of the order.
The cupboard is far from bare, with the next generation starting to make their mark both home and abroad.
Todd Murphy proved in India and at The Oval that the spinning future is in safe hands when Nathan Lyon decides to move on while Josh Inglis, Jhye Richardson and Will Pucovski have shown their ability at different levels and spurts at international cricket. Be it through injury or lack of opportunity, all are yet to make a full fist of it but their chances yet could be on the horizon over the coming years.
Youngsters Aaron Hardie, Teague Wyllie, Campbell Kellaway and Ashley Chandrasinghe are some of the names that Australian cricket fans should become familiar with. They headline the list of names in the next wave of talent to move through the batting ranks and carry the next generation of Australian teams.
Lance Morris and Spencer Johnson, while yet to make their international debuts could form the nucleus of the next great Australian seam attack and could find themselves introduced into Test cricket slowly over the next cycle.
Pat Cummins was the youngest of the seam bowlers selected on the Ashes tour at 30. While time is on his side, and may not yet start ticking on his fellow cartel members, the injection of new blood over the coming seasons into a highly successful bowling unit looms as key moments when transitioning the team in coming summers.
How long does Josh Hazelwood continue playing Test cricket for as his white-ball stocks continue to grow? How much longer does a 33 year-old Mitchell Starc who has given everything to playing for Australia over the monetary incentives of franchise cricket want to go on for?
Nathan Lyon has said his drive to play Test cricket is greater than ever but will he be afforded the opportunity to keep going until he drops?
Since coming into the role, George Bailey has had his fair share of hits with selection and made most of his posts a winner. How he manages the next couple of years and ushering the newest incarnation of Australia‘s Test team will become his and his team’s biggest challenge.
The meshing together of youth and experience is an art that many sporting teams try to perfect and this looming case study of when to pull the right reign could set the next great team if and when pulled correctly.
While the personalities and individual records of those in the 06/07 were bigger names, the holes that the current team will leave when they decide to move on from cricket will be felt greater than those back then were.
How long it takes Australia to fill the holes that will be left over the next cycle will be a storyline to follow.
