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The war of words before the Ashes is escalating further, with former England bowler Broad declaring that the English side will confront "probably the worst Aussie squad since 2010" during their tour this season.

Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Skepticism

The former England bowler's claim came as a reply to David Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – forecasting a clean sweep for the hosts. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner said.

Australia have not lost a men’s Ashes match at home after England's series win in 2010-11. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash three years later – following seven losses in their last nine matches – came before 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Squad Uncertainty and Fitness Concerns for the Hosts

However, 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 makeup of their top order and the fitness of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the first Test at Perth because of a back issue.

"It’s very, very difficult to win in Australia as an England side, or any side," said Broad during his podcast. "Australia have to be strong favorites."

"The Aussies face the greatest expectations because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got question marks over their team and concerns over their skipper's condition. It's not unreasonable in believing – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. And it’s the best England squad in over a decade. So those things point towards the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series."

Parallel to Historic Series

"The Australians have remained so consistent for a long period of time that you just knew who would open the innings, who was going to bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It’s very much a comparable scenario to the 2010-11 period 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 being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of underperforming."

Team Dilemma for the Visitors

A key question for England remains their choice at No 3, with Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the visitors' series victory over a decade past, believes it would be "unusual" for Ben Stokes’ side to abandon Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I would bat Pope at number three," Cook stated. "I think it’s quite an easy choice. You’ve got someone who’s been part of this buildup for three or four years. He has led the team, he’s played some extraordinary innings for England and he scores centuries. He knows 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."

Although praising Jacob Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook added: "It would be a major risk [to pick him] because should it fail what is the fallback option, someone you’ve just got rid of? They’ve invested so much in people like Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would seem such a strange thing to change it now."

Leadership Shift and Commentary Team

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 batsman.

"The management has acted decisively on that, thinking if there is an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Harry Brook who has taken the [captaincy of the] one-day side and it's evident that he seems to be well suited to it. That will just take the pressure off. I believe it won't weaken his position. Certainly it will have hurt him because whenever you're removed from a leadership role it isn't perfect, but I don’t think it undermines him."

Alastair Cook will be in Australia as part of TNT’s coverage of the series, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Steven Finn and Swann as in-studio analysts. The network will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with play-by-play announcers Eykyn and Rob Hatch based remotely in the UK, while the trio deliver expert analysis from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team operating remotely, with the on-ground coverage to be presented by Ives.