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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with former England bowler Stuart Broad declaring that the English side will face "arguably the weakest Aussie squad since 2010" during their tour this season.

David Warner's Bold Prediction Met With Skepticism

Broad's assertion came as a reply to David Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – forecasting a clean sweep for the home side. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner commented.

Australia have not lost a Ashes match at home since England’s series win in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win in the following series – following seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – came before 4-0 series victories in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Squad Doubt and Fitness Worries for Australia

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with questions over the makeup of their top order and the health of Pat Cummins, who is doubtful to play in the first Test at Perth because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to triumph on Australian soil as an English team, or any visiting team," Broad remarked on his podcast. "Australia have to be strong favorites."

"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 team and concerns over their captain’s fitness. You wouldn’t be outlandish in believing – this isn't merely a view, it’s a fact – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. And it’s the best England squad since 2010. So those things match up to the fact that it’s going to be a thrilling Ashes series."

Comparison to Historic Tour

"Australia have been so consistent for a prolonged duration that you just knew who was going to open the innings, who was going to bat, what bowlers there were, and they lack that certainty now. It closely resembles a similar situation to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The reality is Australia generally have to be bad to lose in Australia 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 Decision for the Visitors

A key question for the English camp remains their choice at the number three position, with Pope and Bethell contesting the spot. Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the tourists’ series win over a decade past, thinks it would be "unusual" for Stokes' team to abandon Pope, who has been a regular at number three for the last three years.

"I'd select Pope at three," said Cook. "I think it’s quite an easy choice. You’ve got a player who has been involved in this preparation for several years. He has led the team, he has delivered 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 think that alters the entire balance of the foundation they've established over the last few years."

While hailing Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook said: "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 players such as Pope and [Zak] Crawley that it would be such a strange thing to make a switch at this stage."

Captaincy Shift and Broadcast Crew

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

"They’ve been proactive on that, thinking if there is an injury to Ben Stokes, they have a player in Harry Brook who has led the ODI team and it's evident that he appears a natural fit. That will just take the pressure off. I believe it won't weaken his position. I’m sure it will have hurt him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I doubt it undermines him."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be accompanied by former Ashes champions Steven Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The channel will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the United Kingdom, while Cook, Finn and Swann provide co-commentary from on location. Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team working off-site, with the live presentation to be presented by Ives.