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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with ex-England bowler Stuart Broad declaring that the English side will face "probably the worst Aussie squad since 2010" on tour this winter.

Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Skepticism

Broad's assertion came as a reply to David Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting a clean sweep for the home side. "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 since England’s 3-1 victory in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win in the following series – on the back of seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – was followed by 4-0 Ashes triumphs in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Squad Doubt and Fitness Concerns for the Hosts

However, the No 1-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with questions over the composition of their batting lineup and the fitness of Cummins, who is doubtful to play in the first Test at the Perth stadium because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to triumph on Australian soil as an English team, or any side," said Broad during his podcast. "Australia have to be massive favourites."

"Australia are under the greatest expectations because they’re expected to win, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got doubts over their team and concerns over their skipper's condition. You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it’s probably the worst Australian team since the 2010 era. Meanwhile, it's the strongest England squad in over a decade. So those things point towards the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Comparison to 2010-11 Series

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a prolonged duration that it was clear who would open the batting, who was going to 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 traveled and emerged victorious. The fact of the matter is the Aussies typically need to underperform to be defeated at home and England must excel. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of underperforming."

Selection Decision for the Visitors

A major issue for England remains their choice at the number three position, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the visitors' series victory over a decade past, thinks it would be "unusual" for Stokes' team to move away from Ollie Pope, who has been a regular at number three for the past three seasons.

"I would bat Pope at number three," Cook stated. "I think it’s a straightforward choice. You’ve got a player who has been involved in this preparation for several years. He’s captained the side, he’s played remarkable performances for the national side and he scores centuries. He knows how to score hundreds in first-class cricket. If you get rid of him now, I think that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the recent years."

While hailing Jacob Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would be 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 have committed heavily in players such as Ollie Pope and [Zak] Crawley that it would seem such a strange thing to change it now."

Leadership Shift and Broadcast Team

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

"They’ve been proactive on that, thinking if there is an injury to Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Harry Brook who has led the ODI team and everyone has seen that he appears well suited to it. That will just take the pressure off. I believe it won't undermine him. I’m sure 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 the host nation as part of the broadcast team of the series, and will be joined by fellow Ashes winners Steven Finn and Graeme Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Alastair Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while the trio deliver expert analysis from Australia. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team operating remotely, with the live presentation to be hosted by Ives.