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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring is escalating further, with ex-England bowler Stuart Broad stating that England will face "arguably the weakest Australian team since 2010" on tour this season.

David Warner's Bold Prediction Met With Doubt

Broad's assertion was in response to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting a clean sweep for the hosts. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner commented.

The Aussies remain undefeated in 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 last nine matches – came before 4-0 Ashes triumphs in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Squad Doubt and Fitness Worries for the Hosts

Yet, the top-ranked Test side, 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 Pat Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the first Test at the Perth stadium because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to triumph on Australian soil as an England side, or any visiting team," said Broad on his podcast. "The Australians are strong favorites."

"The Aussies face 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 thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it's a reality – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. And it’s the best England squad in over a decade. These factors match up to the reality that it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series."

Parallel to 2010-11 Series

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a long period of time 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 comparable scenario to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The reality is the Aussies typically need to underperform to lose in Australia and England must excel. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Selection Dilemma for the Visitors

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

"I would bat Ollie Pope at three," said Cook. "In my view it’s quite an easy choice. You’ve got a player who has been involved in this preparation for three or four years. He’s captained the side, he has delivered some extraordinary innings for the national side and he’s a hundred-maker. He understands how to score hundreds in first-class cricket. If you get rid of him now, I believe that changes the whole dynamic of what they’ve built up 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 should it fail where do you move back to, a player you recently discarded? They have committed heavily in people like Ollie Pope and [Zak] Crawley that it would be highly odd to make a switch at this stage."

Captaincy Change and Commentary Team

Pope has been replaced by Brook as England’s vice-captain but, according to Cook, that will "ease the burden on" the Surrey batsman.

"The management has acted decisively on that, considering in case of 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. That will just relieve Pope. I believe it won't undermine him. I’m sure it will have hurt him because whenever you're removed from 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 TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Steven Finn and Graeme Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will provide its own audio feed but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Alastair Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while the trio deliver expert analysis from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be presented by Becky Ives.