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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring is escalating further, with ex-England paceman Broad declaring that England will face "probably the worst Australian team in over a decade" on tour this season.

Warner's Confident Forecast Met With 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 Ashes match on home soil after England's series win in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win in the following series – following seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – was followed by 4-0 series victories in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Squad Uncertainty and Injury Concerns for the Hosts

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test team, who have lost only one of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with uncertainty over the makeup 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 issue.

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

"The Aussies face the greatest expectations because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got doubts over their team and concerns over their skipper's condition. It's not unreasonable in thinking – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010. And it’s the best 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 highly stable for a long period of time that it was clear who would open the batting, who was going to bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It closely resembles a comparable scenario to the 2010-11 period when England went and won there. 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 England remains their selection at the number three position, with Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the visitors' series victory 15 years ago, believes it would be "strange" for Ben Stokes’ side to abandon Pope, who has been a consistent at number three for the last three years.

"I would bat Ollie Pope at 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 has delivered some extraordinary innings for England and he’s a hundred-maker. He understands how to score hundreds in first-class cricket. If you get rid of him now, I think that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the recent years."

Although praising Jacob Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would represent a major risk [to pick him] because should it fail what is the fallback option, a player you recently discarded? They’ve invested so much in people like Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would be such a strange thing to change it now."

Leadership Change and Commentary 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 batsman.

"They’ve been proactive 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 everyone has seen 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 disappointed him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I doubt it diminishes his standing."

Alastair Cook will be in Australia as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be joined by fellow Ashes winners Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will provide its own audio feed but will operate a hybrid model, with play-by-play announcers 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 live presentation to be hosted by Becky Ives.