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

Warner's Bold Prediction Answered by Skepticism

Broad's assertion came as a reply to David Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – predicting a 4-0 victory for the home side. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner said.

Australia have not lost a Ashes match at home after England's series win in the 2010-11 tour. Their 5-0 win 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.

Team Uncertainty and Fitness Worries for the Hosts

Yet, the top-ranked Test team, who have suffered just a single defeat of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with questions over the makeup of their batting lineup and the fitness of Cummins, who is doubtful to play in the first Test at Perth because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to win in Australia as an English team, or any side," Broad remarked on his podcast. "Australia have to be massive favourites."

"Australia are under the greatest expectations because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got question marks over their team and concerns over their skipper's condition. It's not unreasonable in believing – this isn't merely a view, it’s a fact – it’s probably the weakest Aussie lineup since the 2010 era. And it’s the best English team in over a decade. These factors point towards the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Comparison to Historic Series

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a long period of time that you just knew who would open the innings, who would bat, what bowlers there were, 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 be defeated at home and England have to be very good. England have a great chance of being very good and Australia have a decent chance of being bad."

Selection Dilemma for the Visitors

A key question for England remains their choice at the number three position, with Pope and Jacob Bethell contesting the spot. Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the tourists’ series win over a decade past, believes it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to move away from Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the last three years.

"I would bat Pope at three," Cook stated. "I think it’s a straightforward choice. You’ve got someone who’s been part of this buildup for several years. He’s captained the side, he’s played remarkable performances for the national side and he scores centuries. He understands how to score hundreds in the domestic game. If they drop him now, I think 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 added: "It would be a big, big gamble [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work where do you move back to, someone you’ve just got rid of? They have committed heavily in players such as Pope and [Zak] Crawley that it would seem such a strange thing to make a switch at this stage."

Leadership Change and Broadcast Team

Pope has been replaced by Brook as England’s vice-captain but, according to Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey right-hander.

"The management has acted decisively on that, thinking in case of an injury to Ben Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Brook who has taken the [captaincy of the] one-day side and it's evident that he seems to be a natural fit. This will relieve Pope. 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 diminishes his standing."

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