Australian cricket is at risk of being burnt by a missing generation, with the mid-1990s on track to produce the fewest number of Test players in any era of the men’s game in the 20th century.
The importance of selectors’ management of generational change has long been a burning issue, including this summer when just one Australian player under the age of 30 began the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series .
But while Australia’s team to start this summer is similar to those in 2004 and 2014, a bigger problem remains in the dearth of talented players banging down the door in the Sheffield Shield while in their late 20s.
Only five men born between 1994 and 1998 have so far played Test cricket for Australia.
They are South-African-born Marnus Labuschagne, English-born Matt Renshaw, virtually-retired Will Pucovski, Jhye Richardson and Matt Kuhnemann.
Already, the next era of Australian Test players looks likely to overtake that age bracket, with Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Cameron Green and Todd Murphy.
Selectors have also regularly looked to older players to come in when gaps have arisen, with Scott Boland and Michael Neser among the most recent to debut.
A downturn in the Test production line is natural during long periods of stability, but even still, the mid-1990s are a statistical outlier.
Since 1900, an average of 3.38 Test players are born each year, or 17 in any five-year period.
And since World War II, the next lowest production line of players come from those born between 1976 and 1980, with nine graduating to Test cricket after the golden generation playing in the early 2000s.
Still, not since 1898-1902 has any era produced fewer Test players than the mid-1990s, with only four emerging from that period.
Regardless, Cricket Australia is adamant the transition of the current Test team is not a concern.
“The selectors are on record as saying age isn’t a key consideration, it’s more about performance and how the team fits together,” high performance boss Ben Oliver said earlier this summer.
“That can be true of a younger player at the start of their career or someone with more experience at international level.
“We’re seeing some good performances coming through at both Sheffield Shield and Australia A fixtures.
“We are starting to see some really strong performances there and we’re seeing that translate into some consistent domestic performances.”
Beyond being stuck behind one of the most stable teams in Australian history, there are other theories behind the dearth of Test players.
One is that those born in the mid-1990s were the first to come through their teenage years when T20 cricket was taking hold.
Another is that players spending more time overseas in franchise leagues has limited the time they spend at home with specialist coaches working on their game.
But white-ball cricket has at least provided some opportunity for players to taste international cricket without playing Tests, with 18 men born between 1994 and 1998 playing ODIs or T20s for Australia.
“What we do feel confident about is the ability over the last three or four years, to have introduced a fairly high number of players to international cricket through limited-overs formats,” Oliver said.
“We’re building our depth of people who have had exposure to that level of intensity and competition. We are confident we will see that transfer into the Test team at an appropriate time.”
BIRTH WINDOWS THAT HAVE PRODUCED THE FEWEST AUSTRALIAN TEST CRICKETERS IN 20TH CENTURY:
* 1994-1998: 5
* 1900-1904: 6
* 1922-1926: 7
* 1909-1913: 9
* 1976-1980: 9
* 1993-1997: 9
