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The war of words before the Ashes is escalating further, with ex-England bowler Broad declaring that England will confront "probably the worst Australian team since 2010" on tour this winter.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Skepticism

Broad's assertion was in response to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting 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 the 2010-11 tour. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash in the following series – following seven losses in their last nine matches – came before 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Squad Doubt and Injury Worries for Australia

However, the top-ranked Test side, who have lost only one of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with uncertainty over the makeup of their top order and the fitness of Cummins, who is doubtful to play in the first Test at the Perth stadium because of a back injury.

"It’s very, very difficult to win in Australia as an England side, or any side," said Broad during his podcast. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the greatest expectations because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got doubts over their squad and concerns over their captain’s fitness. You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it’s probably the weakest Aussie lineup since the 2010 era. And it’s the best England squad in over a decade. These factors match up to the fact that it’s going to be a thrilling Ashes series."

Parallel to Historic Tour

"The Australians have remained so consistent for a prolonged duration that it was clear who was going to open the batting, who would bat, which bowlers were available, and they don’t have that. It’s very much a similar situation to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The reality is the Aussies typically need to underperform to be defeated at home and England have to be very good. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Selection Decision for the Visitors

A major issue for the English camp remains their selection at the number three position, with Pope and Bethell contesting the spot. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the tourists’ series win over a decade past, believes it would be "unusual" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Pope, who has been a regular at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I would bat Pope at three," said Cook. "In my view it’s quite an easy choice. They have a player who has been part of this buildup for several years. He’s captained the side, he has delivered remarkable performances for the national side and he’s a hundred-maker. He knows how to make big scores in the domestic game. If they drop him now, I think that alters the entire balance of the foundation they've established over the last few years."

While hailing Jacob Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would represent a big, big gamble [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work where do you move back to, a player you recently discarded? They’ve invested so much in players such as Pope and [Crawley that it would be such a strange thing to change it now."

Captaincy Shift and Broadcast Team

Pope has been replaced by Harry Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, as per Cook, that will "ease the burden on" the Surrey batsman.

"The management has acted decisively on that, thinking in case of an injury to Ben Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Brook who has led the ODI team and it's evident that he seems to be well suited to it. That will just take the pressure off. I don’t think weaken his position. I’m sure it will have disappointed him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I don’t think it diminishes his standing."

Alastair Cook will be in Australia as part of the broadcast team of the Ashes, and will be accompanied by fellow Ashes winners Steven Finn and Swann as in-studio analysts. The network will provide its own audio feed but will operate a hybrid model, with play-by-play announcers Alastair Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the United Kingdom, while the trio provide co-commentary from on location. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team operating remotely, with the on-ground coverage to be presented by Ives.