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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with ex-England bowler Broad declaring that England will face "arguably the weakest Australian team in over a decade" on tour this season.

Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Skepticism

Broad's assertion came as a reply to Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – predicting a clean sweep for the home side. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner said.

The Aussies remain undefeated in a men’s Ashes match at home after England's series win in the 2010-11 tour. Their 5-0 win three years later – on the back of 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 Australia

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test team, who have lost only one of their last thirteen series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the makeup of their top order and the fitness of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match at Perth because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to triumph on Australian soil as an England side, or any side," said Broad on his podcast. "Australia have to be strong favorites."

"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 captain’s fitness. It's not unreasonable in thinking – 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. These factors point towards the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Parallel to Historic Tour

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a long period of time that you just knew who was going to open the innings, who was going to bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It’s very much a similar situation to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The reality is Australia generally have to be bad to be defeated at home and England have to be very good. The English have a solid opportunity of being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Team Dilemma for the Visitors

A major issue for England remains their selection at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell contesting the spot. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the tourists’ series win over a decade past, believes it would be "unusual" for Stokes' team to move away from Pope, who has been a regular at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I'd select Pope at number three," said Cook. "I think it’s a straightforward decision. You’ve got someone who’s been involved in this preparation for three or four years. He has led the team, he’s played remarkable performances for the national side and he’s a hundred-maker. He knows how to make big scores in the domestic game. If they drop him now, I believe that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the last few years."

While hailing Jacob Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook said: "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 Pope and [Crawley that it would seem such a strange thing to change it now."

Captaincy Change and Broadcast Crew

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

"They’ve been proactive on that, considering if there is an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Harry Brook who has taken the [captaincy of the] one-day side and everyone has seen that he appears well suited to it. This will take the pressure off. I believe it won't undermine him. Certainly it will have disappointed him because whenever you're removed from a leadership thing it isn't perfect, but I doubt it undermines him."

Alastair Cook will be in the host nation as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be accompanied by former Ashes champions Finn and Graeme Swann as in-studio analysts. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will operate a hybrid model, with play-by-play announcers Alastair Eykyn and Rob Hatch based remotely in the United Kingdom, while the trio provide co-commentary from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team working off-site, with the live presentation to be hosted by Becky Ives.