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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring is escalating further, with former England bowler Stuart Broad declaring that England will confront "arguably the weakest Aussie squad since 2010" on tour this winter.

Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Doubt

Broad's assertion was in response to David Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – forecasting a clean sweep for the hosts. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner commented.

Australia have not lost a men’s Ashes match at home after England's 3-1 victory in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win three years later – following seven losses in their previous nine Tests – came before 4-0 series victories in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Team Doubt and Fitness 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 questions over the composition of their top order and the health of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match at the Perth stadium because of a back issue.

"It’s very, very difficult to triumph on Australian soil as an England side, or any side," Broad remarked during his podcast. "Australia have to be massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the most pressure because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got question marks over their team and question marks over their skipper's condition. You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it is likely the worst Australian team since 2010. Meanwhile, it's the strongest English team in over a decade. These factors point towards the reality that it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series."

Comparison to 2010-11 Tour

"Australia have been so consistent for a prolonged duration that it was clear who would open the innings, who was going to bat, what bowlers there were, and they lack that certainty now. It’s very much a similar situation to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The fact of the matter is the Aussies typically need to underperform to be defeated at home and England have to be very good. The English have a solid opportunity of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of underperforming."

Selection Decision for England

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

"I would bat Ollie Pope at number three," Cook stated. "In my view it’s quite an easy choice. They have a player who has been part of this buildup for several years. He has led the team, he’s played some extraordinary innings for England and he scores centuries. He knows how to make big scores in the domestic game. If you get rid of him now, I believe that changes the whole dynamic of what they’ve built up over the recent years."

While hailing Jacob Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook said: "It would be a major risk [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work what is the fallback option, someone you’ve just got rid of? They’ve invested so much in players such as Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would be highly odd to make a switch at this stage."

Leadership Shift and Broadcast Team

Pope has been replaced by Harry Brook as England’s vice-captain 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 Ben Stokes, they’ve got a guy 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 don’t think weaken his position. Certainly it will have disappointed him because whenever you're removed from a leadership role it isn't perfect, but I doubt it undermines him."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Eykyn and Hatch based remotely in the United Kingdom, while Cook, Finn and Swann 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 Ives.