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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with former England bowler Broad stating that England will confront "probably the worst Aussie squad in over a decade" during their tour this season.

David Warner's Bold Prediction Met With Skepticism

The former England bowler's claim was in response to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – predicting a 4-0 victory for the hosts. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner commented.

Australia have not lost a men’s Ashes match at home after England's 3-1 victory in the 2010-11 tour. Their 5-0 win three years later – on the back of seven losses in their last nine matches – came before 4-0 Ashes triumphs in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Team Doubt and Injury Worries for Australia

Yet, the top-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 unlikely to feature in the first Test at Perth because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to triumph on Australian soil as an English team, or any visiting team," Broad remarked on his podcast. "Australia have to be strong favorites."

"Australia are under the most pressure because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got question marks over their squad and concerns over their skipper's condition. It's not unreasonable in believing – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it’s probably the weakest Aussie lineup since the 2010 era. And it’s the best England squad in over a decade. These factors point towards the reality that it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series."

Parallel to 2010-11 Series

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a prolonged duration that you just knew who would open the innings, who would bat, what bowlers there were, and they don’t have that. It’s very much a similar situation 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. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Selection Decision for the Visitors

A key question for the English camp remains their selection at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Bethell contesting the spot. Cook, whose 766 runs paved the way for the tourists’ series win 15 years ago, believes it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to abandon Ollie Pope, who has been a regular at number three for the last three years.

"I would bat Ollie Pope at three," said Cook. "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 has delivered remarkable performances for England and he’s a hundred-maker. He understands how to score hundreds in the domestic game. If you get rid of him now, I believe that changes the whole dynamic of what they’ve built up over the recent years."

Although praising Jacob Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook added: "It would be a major risk [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 be such a strange thing to make a switch at this stage."

Captaincy Shift and Commentary Crew

Ollie 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.

"The management has acted decisively 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 it's evident that he seems to be well suited to it. That will just take the pressure off. I don’t think undermine him. Certainly it will have disappointed him because whenever you're removed from a leadership role it isn't perfect, but I don’t think it undermines him."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of the broadcast team of the series, and will be joined by fellow Ashes winners Finn and Swann as in-studio analysts. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while Cook, Finn and Swann provide co-commentary from Australia. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the live presentation to be hosted by Becky Ives.