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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring is escalating further, with former England paceman Broad stating that England will confront "arguably the weakest Aussie squad since 2010" during their tour this season.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Doubt

Broad's assertion came as a reply to Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – predicting a clean sweep for the hosts. "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 since England’s series win in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win in the following series – following seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – came before 4-0 series victories in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Team Uncertainty and Injury Worries for the Hosts

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test team, who have lost only one of their past 13 bilateral series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the composition of their top order and the health of Pat Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the first Test at the Perth stadium 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 strong favorites."

"Australia are under the most pressure because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got doubts over their team and concerns over their skipper's condition. You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – this isn't merely a view, it’s a fact – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. Meanwhile, it's the strongest English team since 2010. So those things point towards the fact that it’s going to be a thrilling Ashes series."

Parallel to Historic Series

"The Australians have remained so consistent for a prolonged duration that you just knew who would 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 reality is Australia generally have to be bad to lose in Australia 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 Decision for England

A major issue for England remains their choice at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell contesting the spot. Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the visitors' series victory over a decade past, thinks it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to abandon Ollie Pope, who has been a regular at number three for the last three years.

"I would bat Ollie Pope at number three," said Cook. "In my view it’s quite an easy decision. You’ve got someone who’s been involved in this preparation for several years. He’s captained the side, he has delivered some extraordinary innings for the national side and he’s a hundred-maker. He knows how to score hundreds in first-class cricket. If they drop him now, I believe that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the last few years."

Although praising Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook said: "It would be a major risk [to pick him] because should it fail where do you move back to, someone you’ve just got rid of? They have committed heavily 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 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 if there is an injury to Stokes, they’ve got a guy in 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 weaken his position. I’m sure it will have disappointed him because anytime you get taken off a leadership role it wouldn’t be ideal, but I doubt it diminishes his standing."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of the broadcast team of the series, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The channel will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will use a mixed approach, with play-by-play announcers Alastair Eykyn and Hatch based remotely in the United Kingdom, while Cook, Finn and Swann deliver expert analysis from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team operating remotely, with the live presentation to be presented by Becky Ives.