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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with ex-England bowler Broad declaring that England will face "arguably the weakest Aussie squad in over a decade" during their tour this winter.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Doubt

Broad's assertion came as a reply to Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – forecasting a 4-0 victory for the home side. "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 on home soil since England’s 3-1 victory in the 2010-11 tour. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash three years later – on the back of seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – was followed by 4-0 Ashes triumphs in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Squad Doubt and Injury Concerns 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 uncertainty over the makeup of their batting lineup and the fitness of Pat Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the first Test at Perth because of a back injury.

"It’s very, very difficult to win in Australia as an English team, or any side," Broad remarked during his podcast. "Australia have to be massive favourites."

"The Aussies face the most pressure because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got question marks over their squad and question marks over their skipper's condition. It's not unreasonable in thinking – this isn't merely a view, it’s a fact – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. Meanwhile, it's the strongest England squad in over a decade. So those things point towards the fact that it’s going to be a thrilling contest."

Parallel to Historic Tour

"Australia have been so consistent for a prolonged duration that you just knew who was going to open the innings, who would bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It closely resembles a similar situation to the 2010-11 period when England went and won there. The fact of the matter is the Aussies typically need to underperform to lose in Australia and England have to be very good. The English have a solid opportunity of being very good and Australia have a decent chance of underperforming."

Selection Decision for the Visitors

A major issue for the English camp remains their choice at the number three position, with Ollie Pope and Bethell contesting the spot. Cook, whose 766 runs set up the visitors' series victory 15 years ago, believes it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to abandon Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at number three for the last three years.

"I'd select Ollie Pope at three," Cook stated. "In my view it’s a straightforward 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’s a hundred-maker. He understands how to make big scores in the domestic game. If they drop him now, I believe that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the last few years."

Although praising Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would represent a big, big gamble [to pick him] because should it fail what is the fallback option, someone you’ve just got rid of? They have committed heavily in people like Pope and [Crawley that it would be such a strange thing to change it now."

Captaincy Shift and Broadcast Team

Ollie Pope has been succeeded by Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, as per Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey right-hander.

"They’ve been proactive on that, considering if there is an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Brook who has taken the [captaincy of the] one-day side and everyone has seen that he seems to be well suited to it. This will relieve Pope. I believe it won't undermine him. Certainly it will have disappointed him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I don’t think it undermines him."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of the broadcast team of the series, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Finn and Graeme Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The channel will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will use a mixed approach, with play-by-play announcers Alastair Eykyn and Hatch based remotely in the United Kingdom, while Cook, Finn and Swann provide co-commentary from Australia. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be hosted by Becky Ives.