It has been hard to picture Australia's Test attack beyond the established big three quicks. But their new-look pace arsenal, set to be deployed against England in the upcoming ODI series, might give a glimpse of the future.
Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have been rested after the South Africa tour, while regular white-ball bowler Nathan Ellis will miss the ODI series with a side strain.
In their absence, seamer Xavier Bartlett will spearhead an inexperienced pace attack set to feature left-armer Spencer Johnson and emerging youngster Mahli Beardman. Seam-bowling allrounders Jack Edwards and Liam Scott are also in the squad.
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Even though they've never played together before, with Beardman's T20I in Pakistan earlier this year his only international appearance, the frontline quicks do balance nicely.
Showcasing immaculate upright seam positioning, Bartlett can conjure menacing late swing with the new ball as he has demonstrated numerous times through the years for Brisbane Heat in the BBL.
Johnson has been around for a while; he turns 31 next month, but injuries have limited him to seven ODIs and 11 T20Is. Long hailed as a successor to Starc, Johnson is currently enjoying a rare run without injury and recently returned to red-ball cricket.
Beardman, 21, is a tearaway capable of bowling close to 150 kph and has been earmarked as a future star having spent time in and around Australia squads for over two years.
"I think all the boys, myself included, are very young in our international careers," Bartlett, who has played 12 ODIs and 22 T20Is, told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.
"The World Cup is another one of those things in the next 12 months...it's a massive opportunity, especially this series without the big boys there.
"Try and put our case forward to get in that squad. It's a good opportunity to go out there and try to put some performances on the board and be in that conversation."
While he won't challenge Beardman and Johnson on the speed gun, Bartlett has notably bowled with more venom in a spectacular start to the Shield season yielding 16 wickets at an average of 11.81 from two matches.
"It's been nice to string together some red-ball games. Haven't played that much in the last couple of years, and that obviously was a big thing for me," Bartlett said.
"Was trying to keep my ball speed up, just trying to stay consistently around the mid-130s. Try and have a bit more of an effect, especially when the ball stops swinging and seaming.
"I'm seeing some reward in the red-ball stuff. So hopefully that can transfer over to this series.
"Been trying to take some wickets in the middle overs, and give Mitch (Marsh) a bit more of a weapon to use through there."
While Johnson and, especially, Beardman are unlikely to be considered for Test selection in the near future, Bartlett's swing prowess makes him a strong contender to make next year's Ashes tour.
"An Ashes series is a massive opportunity. I've always wanted to play Test cricket for Australia," he said. "You know it's there, but I don't want to look too far ahead.
"Just trying to focus on the next game and putting good performances on the board for Queensland or Australia.
"Hopefully, if I can put some good performances, I'll be in and around that conversation."
Bartlett has unsurprisingly rarely played with Australia's pace triumvirate. He had golden opportunities on the recent South Africa tour, where he played alongside Hazlewood in the second ODI before lining up with Cummins and Starc in the next game.
"To spend some time with them and pick their brains was great. You know they're always so good with their time," Bartlett said. "The thing that's so impressive with them is their preparation, the little things you take from how they go about their training habits.
"It's no surprise to me, after seeing them up close and personal, why they've had so much success for such a long period of time."
While Bartlett and Johnson are widely known, Beardman is still making a name for himself having yet to play first-class cricket. His most memorable moment of his fledgling career was when he outduelled Steven Smith in last season's BBL finals.
After recently running through India A on Australia A's one-day tour, Beardman had the spotlight on him in Saturday's warm-up match between Western Australia and England at the WACA ground.
He finished with the unflattering figures of 0 for 53 from 10 overs, but did bowl a hostile new ball spell, troubling England openers Ben Duckett and Tom Banton with pace and menacing bounce.
Joe Root did not face a delivery from Beardman, but was nonetheless left impressed. "He's a good bowler. I'm sure he will play more regularly for Australia, he's a talented player," Root said.
"If we get the chance to play against him, we have to make sure we've got all of the skills and everything we need to combat him."