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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with former England paceman Broad stating that England will face "arguably the weakest Aussie squad in over a decade" during their tour this winter.

Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Doubt

The former England bowler's claim was in response to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – predicting a 4-0 victory for the hosts. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner said.

Australia have not lost a Ashes match at home after England's 3-1 victory in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win three years later – on the back of seven losses in their previous nine Tests – was followed by 4-0 Ashes triumphs in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Team Doubt and Injury Concerns for Australia

However, the No 1-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with uncertainty over the makeup of their batting lineup and the health of Cummins, who is doubtful to play in the opening match at the Perth stadium because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to triumph on Australian soil as an English team, or any side," said Broad on his podcast. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the most pressure because they’re expected to win, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got question marks over their squad and question marks over their skipper's condition. You wouldn’t be outlandish in believing – it’s actually not an opinion, it's a reality – it is likely the worst Australian team since 2010. And it’s the best English team in over a decade. These factors point towards the reality that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Comparison to 2010-11 Tour

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a long period of time that it was clear who was going to open the innings, who would bat, which bowlers were available, 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 the Aussies typically need to underperform to be defeated at home and England have to be very good. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Team Dilemma for the Visitors

A major issue for the English camp remains their choice at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Bethell contesting the spot. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the tourists’ series win over a decade past, thinks it would be "unusual" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the last three years.

"I would bat Pope at number three," Cook stated. "I think it’s quite an easy choice. 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 understands how to make big scores in the domestic game. If they drop him now, I believe that changes the whole dynamic of the foundation they've established over the recent years."

Although praising Jacob Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would represent a big, big gamble [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work where do you move back to, a player you recently discarded? They’ve invested so much in people like Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would be highly odd to make a switch at this stage."

Leadership Change and Broadcast Crew

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

"The management has acted decisively on that, considering 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 it's evident that he appears well suited to it. That will just take the pressure off. I don’t think weaken his position. I’m sure it will have hurt him because whenever you're removed from a leadership role it wouldn’t be ideal, but I don’t think it undermines him."

Cook will be in Australia as part of the broadcast team of the series, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Finn and Graeme Swann as in-studio analysts. The network will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Eykyn and Rob Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while Cook, Finn and Swann deliver expert analysis from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be hosted by Becky Ives.