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The war of words before the Ashes is escalating further, with former England paceman Broad declaring that the English side will confront "probably the worst Australian team since 2010" during their tour this winter.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Doubt

Broad's assertion came as a reply to 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 on home soil after England's series win in 2010-11. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash in the following series – following seven defeats in their last nine matches – was followed by 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Team Doubt and Fitness Worries for the Hosts

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test side, who have lost only one 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 injury.

"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 strong favorites."

"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 question marks 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. And it’s the best English team since 2010. So those things match up to the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Comparison to Historic Series

"Australia have been highly stable for a long period of time that it was clear 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 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 have to be very good. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and Australia have a decent chance of being bad."

Team Dilemma for England

A key question for the English camp remains their selection at No 3, with Pope and Bethell contesting the spot. Alastair Cook, whose 766 runs paved the way for the visitors' series victory 15 years ago, thinks it would be "unusual" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Pope, who has been a regular at number three for the past three seasons.

"I'd select Pope at three," said Cook. "In my view it’s quite an easy choice. You’ve got a player who has been involved in this preparation for several years. He’s captained the side, he has delivered remarkable performances for England and he scores centuries. He understands how to make big scores in first-class cricket. If they drop him now, I think that changes the whole dynamic of the foundation they've established over the last few years."

While hailing Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook added: "It would represent a big, big gamble [to pick him] because should it fail what is the fallback option, a player you recently discarded? They’ve invested so much in people like Ollie Pope and [Zak] Crawley that it would be such a strange thing to make a switch at this stage."

Captaincy Shift and Broadcast Team

Pope has been succeeded by Brook as England’s vice-captain but, according to Cook, that will "ease the burden on" the Surrey right-hander.

"They’ve been proactive on that, considering in case of an injury to Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Brook who has led the ODI team and everyone has seen that he seems to be a natural fit. 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 thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I don’t think it undermines him."

Cook will be in Australia as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be joined by fellow Ashes winners Steven Finn and Swann as in-studio analysts. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will operate a hybrid model, with commentators Alastair Eykyn and Rob Hatch to work off-site in the United Kingdom, while the trio provide co-commentary from on location. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team operating remotely, with the live presentation to be hosted by Becky Ives.