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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring continues to heat up, with former England paceman Stuart Broad declaring that England will confront "probably the worst Australian team since 2010" during their tour this season.

Warner's Bold Prediction Answered by Skepticism

Broad's assertion came as a reply to Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – predicting a 4-0 victory for the hosts. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner said.

The Aussies remain undefeated in a men’s Ashes match at home since England’s series win in the 2010-11 tour. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash in the following series – 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.

Squad Doubt and Injury Worries for the Hosts

However, the top-ranked Test team, who have suffered just a single defeat of their last thirteen series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the composition of their top order and the health of 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 England side, or any side," Broad remarked on 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 captain’s fitness. You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – 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. So those things match up to the fact that it’s going to be a thrilling Ashes series."

Parallel to 2010-11 Tour

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a long period of time that you just knew 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 the 2010-11 period when England went and won there. The fact of the matter is Australia generally have to be bad to be defeated at home and England must excel. The English have a solid opportunity of performing exceptionally and Australia have a decent chance of being bad."

Selection Dilemma for England

A major issue for England remains their choice at No 3, with Pope and Bethell contesting the spot. Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the visitors' series victory over a decade past, thinks it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to move away from Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the last three years.

"I'd select Ollie Pope at number three," Cook stated. "I think it’s quite an easy 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 the domestic game. If they drop him now, I think that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the recent years."

While hailing Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would represent a big, big gamble [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work what is the fallback option, someone you’ve just got rid of? They have committed heavily in players such as Pope and [Zak] Crawley that it would seem highly odd to change it now."

Leadership Change and Broadcast Crew

Ollie Pope has been succeeded by Harry Brook as England’s vice-captain but, as per Cook, that will "ease the burden on" the Surrey batsman.

"They’ve been proactive on that, considering in case of an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Brook who has led the ODI team and everyone has seen that he seems to be a natural fit. This will relieve Pope. I believe it won't weaken his position. Certainly it will have hurt him because whenever you're removed from a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I don’t think it undermines him."

Cook will be in Australia as part of TNT’s coverage of the series, and will be accompanied by fellow Ashes winners Finn and Graeme Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will operate a hybrid model, with play-by-play announcers Alastair Eykyn and Hatch based remotely in the UK, while the trio provide co-commentary from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team operating remotely, with the live presentation to be hosted by Ives.