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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring is escalating further, with former England paceman Stuart Broad declaring that England will confront "arguably the weakest Aussie squad in over a decade" on tour this winter.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Doubt

Broad's assertion came as a reply to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting a clean sweep for the home side. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner said.

Australia have not lost a men’s Ashes match on home soil after England's series win in 2010-11. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash in the following series – following seven defeats in their previous nine Tests – came before 4-0 Ashes triumphs in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Team Uncertainty and Fitness Concerns for the Hosts

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their last thirteen series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the makeup of their top order and the health of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match at the Perth stadium because of a back injury.

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

"Australia are under the greatest expectations because they’re expected to win, they’re formidable in home conditions, but they’ve got doubts over their team and concerns over their captain’s fitness. It's not unreasonable in believing – it’s actually not an opinion, it's a reality – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since the 2010 era. And it’s the best England squad in over a decade. So those things point towards the reality that it’s going to be a brilliant contest."

Comparison to Historic Series

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a prolonged duration that you just knew who was going to open the innings, who would bat, what bowlers there were, and they lack that certainty now. It’s very much a similar situation to the 2010-11 period when England went and won there. The reality is the Aussies typically need to underperform to be defeated at home and England must excel. The English have a solid opportunity of performing exceptionally and Australia have a decent chance of being bad."

Team Decision for the Visitors

A major issue for the English camp remains their choice at the number three position, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell contesting the spot. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the visitors' series victory 15 years ago, believes it would be "strange" for Stokes' team to abandon Pope, who has been a regular at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I would bat Ollie Pope at number three," said Cook. "I think it’s a straightforward decision. You’ve got a player who has been involved in this preparation for several years. He’s captained the side, he’s played some extraordinary innings for the national side and he’s a hundred-maker. He understands how to score hundreds 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."

Although praising Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook said: "It would represent a big, big gamble [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 players such as Ollie Pope and [Zak] Crawley that it would be highly odd to change it now."

Leadership Shift and Commentary Team

Pope has been replaced by Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, as per Cook, that will "ease the burden on" the Surrey batsman.

"They’ve been proactive on that, thinking if there is an injury to Ben Stokes, they have a player in Brook who has led the ODI team and it's evident that he seems to be a natural fit. This will take the pressure off. I don’t think undermine him. Certainly it will have disappointed him because whenever you're removed from a leadership thing it wouldn’t be ideal, but I doubt it undermines him."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of the broadcast team of the series, and will be joined by fellow Ashes winners Steven Finn and Graeme Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with play-by-play announcers Alastair Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while Cook, Finn and Swann deliver expert analysis from on location. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be hosted by Becky Ives.