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The pre-Ashes verbal sparring continues to heat up, with former England paceman Stuart Broad stating that the English side will face "arguably the weakest Australian team since 2010" on tour this winter.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Answered by Doubt

The former England bowler's claim was in response to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – predicting a 4-0 victory for the hosts. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner said.

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 three years later – following seven losses in their previous nine Tests – was followed by 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Team Doubt and Injury Worries for Australia

Yet, the No 1-ranked Test side, who have lost only one of their past 13 bilateral series, enter the upcoming assignment with questions over the makeup of their batting lineup and the fitness of Pat Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match at the Perth stadium because of a back issue.

"It's extremely challenging to win in Australia as an England side, or any side," said Broad during his podcast. "Australia have to be strong favorites."

"The Aussies face the greatest expectations because they’re expected to win, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got doubts over their team and question marks over their captain’s fitness. You wouldn’t be outlandish in believing – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it is likely the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. Meanwhile, it's the strongest England squad in over a decade. These factors 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 long period of time that it was clear who was going to open the batting, who would bat, what bowlers there were, and they lack that certainty now. It closely resembles a comparable scenario 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 must excel. The English have a solid opportunity of being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of underperforming."

Team Decision for the Visitors

A key question for England remains their choice at the number three position, with Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Cook, whose 766 runs set up the tourists’ series win over a decade past, believes it would be "strange" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Ollie Pope, who has been a regular at number three for the last three years.

"I would bat Ollie Pope at number three," Cook stated. "In my view it’s quite an easy choice. They have someone who’s been involved in this preparation for several years. He has led the team, he’s played some extraordinary innings 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 think that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the last few years."

While hailing Jacob Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would be 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 [Crawley that it would seem highly odd to change it now."

Leadership Change and Commentary Team

Pope has been succeeded by Harry Brook as England’s vice-captain but, according to Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey batsman.

"The management has acted decisively on that, considering if there is an injury to Ben Stokes, they’ve got a guy 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. This will take the pressure off. I don’t think undermine him. I’m sure it will have hurt him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing it isn't perfect, but I don’t think it diminishes his standing."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of TNT’s coverage of the series, and will be joined by fellow Ashes winners Finn and Graeme Swann as in-studio analysts. The network will provide its own audio feed but will operate a hybrid model, 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. Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be presented by Becky Ives.