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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with ex-England bowler Stuart Broad declaring that England will confront "probably the worst Australian team in over a decade" during their tour this season.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Doubt

The former England bowler's claim was in response to David Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – predicting a 4-0 victory for the hosts. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner commented.

The Aussies remain undefeated in a men’s Ashes match at home since England’s 3-1 victory in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win in the following series – on the back of seven losses in their last nine matches – came before 4-0 Ashes triumphs in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Squad Doubt and Fitness Concerns for the Hosts

Yet, the top-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their last thirteen series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the composition of their batting lineup and the fitness of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match at the Perth stadium because of a back injury.

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

"The Aussies face the greatest expectations because they’re expected to win, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got question marks over their team and concerns over their captain’s fitness. It's not unreasonable in thinking – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. Meanwhile, it's the strongest English team in over a decade. So those things match up to the reality that it’s going to be a thrilling Ashes series."

Parallel to Historic Series

"Australia have been so consistent for a long period of time that it was clear who was going to open the batting, who would bat, which bowlers were available, and they don’t have that. It closely resembles a similar situation to 2010-11 when England went and won there. The fact of the matter 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 performing exceptionally and Australia have a decent chance of underperforming."

Team Dilemma for the Visitors

A major issue for the English camp remains their choice at No 3, with Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Alastair Cook, whose 766 runs paved the way for the visitors' series victory over a decade past, believes it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to abandon Pope, who has been a consistent at number three for the past three seasons.

"I would bat Pope at number three," said Cook. "In my view it’s a straightforward choice. They have someone who’s been part of this buildup for several years. He’s captained the side, he’s played remarkable performances for England and he scores centuries. He understands how to make big scores in the domestic game. 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 Jacob Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook said: "It would be a major risk [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work where do you move back to, someone you’ve just got rid of? They’ve invested so much in people like Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would be such a strange thing to make a switch at this stage."

Leadership Shift and Commentary Crew

Ollie Pope has been succeeded by Harry Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, as per Cook, that will "ease the burden on" the Surrey right-hander.

"The management has acted decisively on that, thinking 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 seems to be well suited to it. This will take the pressure off. I don’t think undermine him. Certainly it will have hurt him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I doubt it diminishes his standing."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of TNT’s coverage of the series, and will be accompanied by fellow Ashes winners Steven Finn and Graeme Swann as in-studio analysts. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with play-by-play announcers Eykyn and Hatch based remotely in the United Kingdom, while Cook, Finn and Swann deliver expert analysis from on location. Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team operating remotely, with the live presentation to be presented by Ives.