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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with former England bowler Stuart Broad declaring that England will face "probably the worst Australian team in over a decade" on tour this winter.

David Warner's Bold Prediction Met With Doubt

Broad's assertion came as a reply to David Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – forecasting a 4-0 victory for the hosts. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner said.

Australia have not lost a men’s Ashes match on home soil after England's 3-1 victory in 2010-11. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash in the following series – on the back of seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – was followed by 4-0 series victories in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Squad Uncertainty and Injury Worries for Australia

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test team, who have lost only one of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with questions over the makeup of their batting lineup and the fitness of Pat Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match at the Perth stadium because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to triumph on Australian soil as an English team, or any visiting team," Broad remarked during his podcast. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the most pressure because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got question marks over their squad and question marks over their captain’s fitness. It's not unreasonable in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it is likely the worst Australian team since 2010. And it’s the best English team in over a decade. So those things match up to the reality that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Parallel to 2010-11 Tour

"Australia have been so consistent for a prolonged duration that it was clear who was going to open the innings, who would bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It closely resembles a comparable scenario to 2010-11 when England went and won there. The reality is Australia generally have to be bad to be defeated at home and England must excel. The English have a solid opportunity of performing exceptionally and Australia have a decent chance of underperforming."

Team Decision for England

A major issue for the English camp remains their selection at the number three position, with Ollie Pope and Bethell contesting the spot. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the tourists’ series win 15 years ago, thinks it would be "strange" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I'd select Pope at three," said Cook. "I think it’s a straightforward decision. They have a player who has been part of this buildup for several years. He has led the team, he has delivered some extraordinary innings for England and he scores centuries. He knows how to make big scores in the domestic game. If they drop him now, I think that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the last few years."

While hailing Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would represent a big, big gamble [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 players such as Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would seem such a strange thing to make a switch at this stage."

Captaincy Change and Commentary Crew

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

"They’ve been proactive on that, considering if there is an injury to Ben Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Brook who has led the ODI team and everyone has seen that he seems to be a natural fit. This will take the pressure off. I believe it won't weaken his position. Certainly it will have disappointed him because whenever you're removed from a leadership thing it isn't perfect, but I doubt 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 Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Eykyn and Rob Hatch to work off-site in the United Kingdom, while the trio provide co-commentary from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team operating remotely, with the live presentation to be hosted by Becky Ives.