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The war of words before the Ashes is escalating further, with former England paceman Broad declaring that England will face "arguably the weakest Aussie squad since 2010" on tour this season.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Doubt

The former England bowler's claim came as a reply to David Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – forecasting a 4-0 victory 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 Ashes match on home soil since England’s series win in 2010-11. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash three years later – following seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – was followed by 4-0 Ashes triumphs in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Squad Doubt and Injury Worries for the Hosts

Yet, the top-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with questions over the makeup of their batting lineup and the health of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the first Test at Perth because of a back injury.

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

"Australia are under the most pressure because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got question marks over their team and question marks over their captain’s fitness. You wouldn’t be outlandish in believing – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. And it’s the best English team in over a decade. These factors point towards the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Parallel to Historic Tour

"Australia have been highly stable for a long period of time that it was clear who would open the innings, 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 went and won there. 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 being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of underperforming."

Team Decision for the Visitors

A key question for England remains their choice at the number three position, with Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the visitors' series victory 15 years ago, believes it would be "unusual" for Stokes' team to move away from Ollie Pope, who has been a regular at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I would bat Pope at three," Cook stated. "I think it’s a straightforward decision. They have someone who’s been involved in this preparation for three or four years. He’s captained the side, he has delivered remarkable performances for the national side and he scores centuries. He understands how to score hundreds 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 Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook added: "It would represent a major risk [to pick him] because should it fail what is the fallback option, a player you recently discarded? They have committed heavily in players such as Pope and [Zak] Crawley that it would be highly odd to make a switch at this stage."

Leadership Change and Commentary Crew

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

"The management has acted decisively on that, thinking in case of an injury to Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Harry Brook who has led the ODI team and it's evident that he appears well suited to it. This will relieve Pope. I don’t think weaken his position. Certainly it will have hurt him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing it isn't perfect, but I doubt it diminishes his standing."

Cook will be in Australia as part of the broadcast team of the Ashes, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Steven Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The channel will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Eykyn and Hatch based remotely in the UK, while Cook, Finn and Swann deliver expert analysis from on location. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team operating remotely, with the on-ground coverage to be presented by Ives.