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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring continues to heat up, with ex-England paceman Broad declaring that the English side will face "probably the worst Aussie squad in over a decade" on tour this winter.

Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Doubt

The former England bowler's claim was in response to David Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – forecasting a clean sweep for the hosts. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner commented.

The Aussies remain undefeated in a Ashes match on home soil since England’s 3-1 victory in the 2010-11 tour. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash three years later – on the back of seven defeats in their last nine matches – was followed by 4-0 Ashes triumphs in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Team Doubt and Fitness Concerns for the Hosts

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test team, who have lost only one of their last thirteen series, enter the upcoming assignment with uncertainty over the makeup of their batting lineup and the health of Pat Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the first Test at Perth because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to triumph on Australian soil as an England side, or any visiting team," said Broad during his podcast. "Australia have to be massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the most pressure because they’re expected to win, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got doubts over their team and question marks over their skipper's condition. It's not unreasonable in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it's a reality – it is likely the worst Australian team since the 2010 era. Meanwhile, it's the strongest English team since 2010. So those things point towards the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Comparison to 2010-11 Series

"Australia have been highly stable for a long period of time that you just knew who would open the innings, who would bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It closely resembles a comparable scenario to the 2010-11 period 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 must excel. The English have a solid opportunity of being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Team Decision for England

A major issue for England remains their selection at the number three position, with Pope and Jacob Bethell contesting the spot. Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the tourists’ series win 15 years ago, thinks it would be "unusual" for Stokes' team to abandon Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the last three years.

"I'd select Ollie Pope at three," said Cook. "I think it’s quite an easy choice. You’ve got a player who has been part of this buildup for several years. He has led the team, he has delivered remarkable performances for the national side and he scores centuries. He knows how to score hundreds in first-class cricket. If you get rid of him now, I believe that alters the entire balance of the foundation they've established over the recent years."

While hailing Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook said: "It would be a big, big gamble [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work where do you move back to, someone you’ve just got rid of? They have committed heavily 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

Ollie Pope has been replaced by Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, as per Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey batsman.

"They’ve been proactive on that, thinking in case of an injury to Ben 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. That will just take the pressure off. I believe it won't undermine him. I’m sure it will have hurt him because whenever you're removed from a leadership thing it isn't perfect, but I doubt it diminishes his standing."

Alastair Cook will be in the host nation as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Steven Finn and Graeme Swann as in-studio analysts. The channel will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will use a mixed approach, with play-by-play announcers Alastair Eykyn and Rob 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 on-ground coverage to be presented by Ives.