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The war of words before the Ashes is escalating further, with ex-England bowler Stuart Broad declaring that England will confront "probably the worst Aussie squad since 2010" on tour this season.

Warner's Bold Prediction Met With Skepticism

Broad's assertion came as a reply to David Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting a clean sweep for the hosts. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner said.

Australia have not lost a men’s Ashes match at home after England's 3-1 victory in the 2010-11 tour. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash three years later – following seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – came before 4-0 Ashes triumphs in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Team Uncertainty and Injury Concerns for Australia

However, the top-ranked Test team, who have suffered just a single defeat of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with uncertainty over the makeup of their batting lineup and the health of Cummins, who is doubtful to play in the opening match at Perth because of a back injury.

"It's extremely challenging to win in Australia as an England side, or any visiting team," said Broad during his podcast. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"Australia are under the most pressure because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got doubts over their squad and question marks over their skipper's condition. You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – this isn't merely a view, it’s a fact – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. And it’s the best England squad since 2010. 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 long period of time that you just knew who was going to open the batting, who was going to bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It’s very much a comparable scenario to the 2010-11 period 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 have to be very good. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of underperforming."

Selection Dilemma for England

A key question for England remains their selection at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Bethell vying for the role. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the visitors' series victory over a decade past, believes it would be "unusual" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Pope, who has been a consistent at number three for the past three seasons.

"I'd select Ollie Pope at three," said Cook. "In my view it’s quite an easy choice. You’ve got a player who has been part of this buildup for three or four years. He has led the team, he’s played some extraordinary innings for the national side 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 what they’ve built up over the recent years."

While hailing Jacob Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook said: "It would represent a big, big gamble [to pick him] because should it fail what is the fallback option, someone you’ve just got rid of? They have committed heavily in people like Pope and [Crawley that it would be such a strange thing to make a switch at this stage."

Leadership Change and Broadcast Team

Pope has been replaced by Harry Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, according to Cook, that will "ease the burden on" the Surrey batsman.

"The management has acted decisively on that, considering in case of an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Harry Brook who has led the ODI team and it's evident that he appears a natural fit. That will just take the pressure off. I don’t think weaken his position. Certainly it will have disappointed him because anytime you get taken off a leadership role it isn't perfect, but I doubt it undermines him."

Cook will be in Australia as part of the broadcast team of the Ashes, and will be accompanied by fellow Ashes winners Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will provide its own audio feed but will operate a hybrid model, with commentators Eykyn and Rob 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 on-ground coverage to be hosted by Becky Ives.