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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with former England paceman Broad declaring that England will face "probably the worst Australian team since 2010" during their tour this winter.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Skepticism

Broad's assertion came as a reply to David Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – predicting a 4-0 victory for the home side. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner said.

The Aussies remain undefeated in a Ashes match at home after England's 3-1 victory in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win three years later – on the back of seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – was followed by 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Team Doubt and Injury Worries for the Hosts

Yet, the top-ranked Test team, who have lost only one of their last thirteen series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the composition of their batting lineup and the fitness of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the first Test at the Perth stadium because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to win in Australia as an English team, or any side," said Broad on his podcast. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the greatest expectations because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got doubts over their squad and concerns over their skipper's condition. You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it's a reality – it’s probably the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. And it’s the best English team since 2010. So those things point towards the reality that it’s going to be a thrilling Ashes series."

Parallel to 2010-11 Series

"Australia have been highly stable for a long period of time that you just knew who was going to open the innings, who was going to bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It closely resembles a comparable scenario to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The fact of the matter is Australia generally have to be bad to be defeated at home and England must excel. England have a great chance of being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Selection Dilemma for the Visitors

A major issue for the English camp remains their choice at the number three position, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Alastair Cook, whose 766 runs paved the way for the tourists’ series win over a decade past, believes it would be "unusual" for Stokes' team to move away from Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the last three years.

"I'd select Pope at number three," Cook stated. "In my view it’s quite an easy decision. You’ve got a player who has been involved in this preparation for three or four years. He has led the team, he’s played remarkable performances for England and he’s a hundred-maker. He understands how to make big scores in first-class cricket. If you get rid of him now, I believe that alters the entire balance of the foundation they've established over the last few years."

While hailing Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would be a major risk [to pick him] because should it fail where do you move back to, someone you’ve just got rid of? They’ve invested so much in people like Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would seem such a strange thing to change it now."

Leadership Change and Commentary Team

Ollie Pope has been replaced by Harry Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, according to Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey right-hander.

"They’ve been proactive on that, thinking if there is an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Harry Brook who has taken the [captaincy of the] one-day side and it's evident that he appears a natural fit. This will relieve Pope. I believe it won't undermine him. Certainly it will have disappointed him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I doubt it diminishes his standing."

Alastair Cook will be in Australia as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be accompanied by fellow Ashes winners Finn and Graeme Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will provide its own audio feed but will operate a hybrid model, with commentators Alastair Eykyn and Rob Hatch based remotely in the United Kingdom, while Cook, Finn and Swann deliver expert analysis from on location. Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be presented by Becky Ives.