🔗 Share this article Pre-Ashes Banter Intensifies as Broad Calls Australian Team the Weakest Since 2010 The war of words before the Ashes is escalating further, with ex-England paceman Broad declaring that England will confront "arguably the weakest Australian team since 2010" during their tour this winter. David Warner's Bold Prediction Met With Doubt The former England bowler's claim came as a reply to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting a 4-0 victory for the home side. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner commented. Australia have not lost a men’s Ashes match at home after England's series win in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win three years later – on the back of seven losses in their previous nine Tests – came before 4-0 series victories in 2017-18 and 2021-22. Team Doubt and Injury Concerns for the Hosts Yet, the top-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with uncertainty over the composition of their top order and the fitness of Pat Cummins, who is doubtful to play 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 visiting team," Broad remarked on his podcast. "The Australians are strong favorites." "Australia are under the greatest expectations because they’re expected to win, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got question marks over their squad and question marks over their skipper's condition. You wouldn’t be outlandish in believing – this isn't merely a view, it’s a fact – it’s probably the worst Australian team since the 2010 era. Meanwhile, it's the strongest English team in over a decade. These factors match up to the fact that it’s going to be a thrilling Ashes series." Parallel to Historic Tour "The Australians have remained highly stable for a long period of time that it was clear who was going to open the batting, who was going to bat, what bowlers there were, and they don’t have that. It’s very much a comparable scenario to the 2010-11 period when England traveled and emerged victorious. The reality is Australia generally have to be bad to be defeated at home and England have to be very good. The English have a solid opportunity of being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad." Team Dilemma for England A key question for England remains their selection at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Bethell vying for the role. Alastair Cook, whose prolific scoring set up the tourists’ series win over a decade past, believes it would be "unusual" for Stokes' team to move away from Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at number three for the past three seasons. "I would bat Pope at three," Cook stated. "I think it’s quite an easy choice. They have a player who has been part of this buildup for several years. He’s captained the side, he’s played remarkable performances for the national side and he’s a hundred-maker. He understands how to make big scores in first-class cricket. If you get rid of him now, I believe that alters the entire balance of the foundation they've established over the recent years." Although praising Jacob Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook added: "It would represent a major risk [to pick him] because should it fail where do you move back to, a player you recently discarded? They’ve invested so much in players such as Pope and [Crawley that it would seem highly odd to change it now." Captaincy Change and Commentary Crew Pope has been replaced by Brook as England’s vice-captain but, as per Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey right-hander. "They’ve been proactive on that, considering in case of an injury to Stokes, they have a player in Harry Brook who has led the ODI team and everyone has seen that he seems to be well suited to it. This will relieve Pope. I don’t think undermine him. Certainly it will have hurt him because whenever you're removed from a leadership role it isn't perfect, but I don’t think it undermines him." Cook will be in Australia as part of the broadcast team of the series, and will be accompanied by former Ashes champions Finn and Swann as in-studio analysts. The channel will provide its own audio feed but will operate a hybrid model, with commentators Eykyn and Rob Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while the trio provide co-commentary from Australia. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team working off-site, with the live presentation to be hosted by Becky Ives.