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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring continues to heat up, with former England paceman Broad declaring that the English side will face "probably the worst Aussie squad in over a decade" on tour this season.

Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Skepticism

The former England bowler's claim came as a reply to David Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – forecasting a clean sweep for the hosts. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner commented.

Australia have not lost a Ashes match at home since England’s 3-1 victory in 2010-11. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash three years later – following seven losses in their previous nine Tests – came before 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Squad Doubt and Injury Worries for the Hosts

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test side, who have lost only one of their last thirteen series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the composition 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 injury.

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

"Australia are under the greatest expectations because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got doubts over their team and concerns over their skipper's condition. You wouldn’t be outlandish in believing – it’s actually not an opinion, it's a reality – it’s probably 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 thrilling contest."

Comparison to 2010-11 Tour

"Australia have been so consistent for a long period of time that you just knew who would open the innings, who would bat, which bowlers were available, and they don’t have that. It closely resembles a comparable scenario to 2010-11 when England went and won there. The fact of the matter is Australia generally have to be bad to lose in Australia and England must excel. England have a great chance of being very good and Australia have a decent chance of underperforming."

Team Decision for England

A key question for the English camp remains their choice at the number three position, with Pope and Jacob Bethell contesting the spot. Alastair Cook, whose 766 runs paved the way for the tourists’ series win 15 years ago, thinks it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to abandon Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the last three years.

"I'd select Pope at three," Cook stated. "In my view it’s quite an easy decision. You’ve got someone who’s been involved in this preparation for three or four years. He has led the team, he has delivered some extraordinary innings for the national side and he scores centuries. He knows how to make big scores in the domestic game. If you get rid of him now, I think that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the last few years."

Although praising Jacob Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook added: "It would be a major risk [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work what is the fallback option, 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."

Leadership Change and Commentary Team

Ollie Pope has been succeeded by Harry 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, 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 a natural fit. This will take the pressure off. I believe it won't weaken his position. I’m sure it will have disappointed him because whenever you're removed from a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I don’t think it diminishes his standing."

Cook will be in Australia as part of the broadcast team of the Ashes, and will be joined by fellow Ashes winners Steven Finn and Graeme Swann as in-studio analysts. The network will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Eykyn and Rob Hatch based remotely 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 on-ground coverage to be presented by Becky Ives.