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The war of words before the Ashes is escalating further, with former England bowler Stuart Broad declaring that England will face "probably the worst Aussie squad in over a decade" during their tour this winter.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Doubt

Broad's assertion was in response to David Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – predicting a clean sweep 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 men’s Ashes match on home soil since England’s series win in the 2010-11 tour. Their 5-0 win in the following series – on the back of seven losses in their last nine matches – came before 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Team Uncertainty and Fitness Worries for Australia

However, the top-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their last thirteen series, enter the upcoming assignment with uncertainty over the makeup of their top order and the health of Pat Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match at Perth because of a back issue.

"It’s very, very difficult to win in Australia as an English team, or any visiting team," Broad remarked during his podcast. "The Australians are strong favorites."

"The Aussies face the greatest expectations because they’re expected to win, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got question marks over their team and question marks over their captain’s fitness. You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since the 2010 era. Meanwhile, it's the strongest England squad in over a decade. So those things match up to the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Comparison to 2010-11 Tour

"Australia have been highly stable for a prolonged duration that you just knew who was going to open the batting, who would bat, what bowlers there were, and they don’t have that. It’s very much a comparable scenario to the 2010-11 period when England went and won there. The fact of the matter is the Aussies typically need to underperform to be defeated at home and England must excel. The English have a solid opportunity of being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of underperforming."

Selection Dilemma for the Visitors

A key question for England remains their selection at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Bethell vying for the role. Cook, whose 766 runs paved the way for the tourists’ series win over a decade past, thinks it would be "unusual" for Stokes' team to abandon Pope, who has been a regular at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I'd select Ollie Pope at number three," Cook stated. "I think it’s quite an easy choice. You’ve got someone who’s been part of this buildup for several years. He has led the team, he’s played some extraordinary innings for the national side and he’s a hundred-maker. He knows how to make big scores in first-class cricket. If they drop him now, I believe that changes the whole dynamic of what they’ve built up over the recent years."

While hailing Jacob Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook said: "It would be a big, big gamble [to pick him] because should it fail what is the fallback option, someone you’ve just got rid of? They’ve invested so much in players such as Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would seem highly odd to change it now."

Leadership Change and Commentary Team

Pope has been succeeded by Harry Brook as England’s vice-captain but, as per Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey batsman.

"They’ve been proactive on that, thinking in case of an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Harry Brook who has led the ODI team and it's evident that he appears well suited to it. This will take the pressure off. I don’t think weaken his position. Certainly it will have hurt him because whenever you're removed from a leadership role it isn't perfect, but I don’t think it diminishes his standing."

Alastair Cook will be in Australia as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be accompanied by former Ashes champions Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with play-by-play announcers Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the United Kingdom, while the trio provide co-commentary from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team operating remotely, with the live presentation to be hosted by Ives.