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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with ex-England paceman Broad declaring that England will face "arguably the weakest Australian team since 2010" during their tour this winter.

Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Doubt

Broad's assertion was in response to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting a clean sweep for the home side. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner said.

Australia have not lost a men’s Ashes match on home soil after England's series win in the 2010-11 tour. Their 5-0 win three years later – on the back of seven losses in their last nine matches – was followed by 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Team Uncertainty and Fitness Concerns for Australia

Yet, the top-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their past 13 bilateral series, approach the forthcoming contest with uncertainty over the makeup of their top order and the health of Cummins, who is doubtful to play in the opening match at Perth because of a back issue.

"It’s very, very difficult to win in Australia as an English team, or any visiting team," said Broad during his podcast. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"The Aussies face 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. It's not unreasonable in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. And it’s the best English team since 2010. So those things point towards the fact that it’s going to be a thrilling Ashes series."

Comparison to 2010-11 Tour

"The Australians have remained so consistent for a long period of time that it was clear who was going to open the innings, who was going to bat, what bowlers there were, and they don’t have that. It’s very much a similar situation to 2010-11 when England went and won there. The reality 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 Australia have a decent chance of underperforming."

Selection Decision for the Visitors

A key question for England 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, believes it would be "strange" for Ben Stokes’ side to abandon Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I'd select Pope at three," Cook stated. "In my view it’s quite an easy choice. You’ve got someone who’s been part of this buildup for several years. He has led the team, he has delivered remarkable performances for England and he scores centuries. He understands how to score hundreds in first-class cricket. If they drop him now, I believe that changes the whole dynamic of what they’ve built up over the recent years."

Although praising Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would be a major risk [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 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 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 in case of an injury to Ben Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Harry Brook who has led the ODI team and it's evident that he appears a natural fit. This will relieve Pope. I believe it won't undermine him. I’m sure it will have disappointed him because anytime you get taken off a leadership role it isn't perfect, but I don’t think it undermines him."

Cook will be in Australia as part of the broadcast team of the Ashes, and will be accompanied by former Ashes champions Finn and Graeme Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Alastair Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while Cook, Finn and Swann provide co-commentary from Australia. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be hosted by Ives.