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The war of words before the Ashes is escalating further, with former England paceman Stuart Broad declaring that England will face "arguably the weakest Australian team in over a decade" during their tour this season.

David Warner's Bold Prediction Answered by Doubt

The former England bowler's claim was in response to Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – predicting a clean sweep for the hosts. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner said.

The Aussies remain undefeated in a Ashes match on home soil since England’s 3-1 victory in the 2010-11 tour. Their 5-0 win three years later – on the back of seven defeats in their last nine matches – was followed by 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Squad Doubt and Injury Concerns for Australia

However, the top-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their last thirteen series, approach the forthcoming contest with uncertainty over the makeup of their batting lineup and the fitness of Pat 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 visiting team," said Broad during his podcast. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the greatest expectations because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got question marks over their squad and question marks over their skipper's condition. It's not unreasonable in thinking – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it’s probably the weakest Aussie lineup since the 2010 era. Meanwhile, it's the strongest English team since 2010. So those things point towards the reality that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Comparison to 2010-11 Series

"Australia have been so consistent for a prolonged duration that you just knew who was going to open the innings, who was going to bat, which bowlers were available, and they don’t have that. It closely resembles a comparable scenario to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The fact of the matter is Australia generally have to be bad to be defeated at home and England must excel. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and Australia have a decent chance of underperforming."

Selection Dilemma for the Visitors

A major issue for England remains their selection at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the tourists’ series win 15 years ago, believes it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to move away from Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I would bat Pope at three," said Cook. "In my view it’s a straightforward decision. They have someone who’s been part of this buildup for three or four years. He has led the team, he has delivered remarkable performances for the national side and he’s a hundred-maker. He knows how to score hundreds in first-class cricket. If you get rid of him now, I think that changes the whole dynamic of what they’ve built up over the last few years."

Although praising Jacob Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook said: "It would be a major risk [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work where do you move back to, someone you’ve just got rid of? They’ve invested so much in players such as Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would seem such a strange thing to change it now."

Leadership Change and Commentary Team

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, thinking if there is an injury to Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Brook who has taken the [captaincy of the] one-day side and everyone has seen that he appears a natural fit. That will just take the pressure off. I believe it won't 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 diminishes his standing."

Alastair Cook will be in the host nation as part of the broadcast team of the series, and will be accompanied by former Ashes champions Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The channel will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Alastair Eykyn and Rob Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while Cook, Finn and Swann provide co-commentary from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be hosted by Ives.