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

Warner's Bold Prediction Answered by Doubt

Broad's assertion was in response to David Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting a clean sweep for the home side. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner commented.

Australia have not lost a Ashes match at home since England’s series win in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win 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.

Squad Uncertainty and Fitness Concerns for the Hosts

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test team, who have suffered just a single defeat of their last thirteen series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the makeup of their batting lineup and the health of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match 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. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the most pressure because they’re expected to win, 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 thinking – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. Meanwhile, it's the strongest England squad in over a decade. These factors point towards the reality that it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series."

Parallel to Historic Series

"The Australians have remained so consistent for a long period of time that it was clear who was going to open the batting, who would bat, what bowlers there were, and they lack that certainty now. It’s very much a similar situation to the 2010-11 period 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 must excel. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Selection Decision for the Visitors

A key question for the English camp remains their choice at No 3, with Pope and Bethell vying for the role. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the visitors' series victory 15 years ago, thinks it would be "unusual" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the last three years.

"I'd select Ollie Pope at number three," said Cook. "In my view it’s a straightforward choice. You’ve got someone who’s been involved in this preparation for three or four years. He’s captained the side, he has delivered 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 believe that alters the entire balance of the foundation they've established over the recent years."

Although praising Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook added: "It would be a big, big gamble [to pick him] because should it fail where do you move back to, a player you recently discarded? They’ve invested so much in people like Pope and [Crawley that it would be such a strange thing to make a switch at this stage."

Captaincy Change and Commentary Crew

Ollie Pope has been succeeded by Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, according to Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey right-hander.

"The management has acted decisively on that, thinking if there is an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Harry Brook who has led the ODI team and it's evident that he appears well suited to it. This will take the pressure off. I don’t think undermine him. Certainly it will have hurt him because anytime you get taken off a leadership role it wouldn’t be ideal, but I doubt it undermines him."

Alastair Cook will be in Australia as part of the broadcast team of the Ashes, and will be joined by fellow Ashes winners Finn and Graeme Swann as in-studio analysts. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with play-by-play announcers Alastair Eykyn and Hatch based remotely in the UK, while Cook, Finn and Swann provide co-commentary from Australia. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team working off-site, with the live presentation to be hosted by Becky Ives.