🔗 Share this article Pre-Ashes Trash Talk Escalates as Broad Labels Australia the Weakest After 2010 The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with former England bowler Broad declaring that the English side will confront "probably the worst Aussie squad since 2010" on tour this season. Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Doubt The former England bowler's claim was in response to Warner – an Ashes foe of Broad’s – predicting a clean sweep for the home side. "If the captain [Pat Cummins] doesn’t play, they might win one game," Warner said. The Aussies remain undefeated in a Ashes match on home soil since England’s series win in the 2010-11 tour. 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 Doubt and Injury Worries for the Hosts However, 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 batting lineup and the health of Pat Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the opening match at Perth because of a back issue. "It's extremely challenging to win in Australia as an English team, or any side," said Broad during his podcast. "Australia have to be massive favourites." "The Aussies face the most pressure because they’re expected to win, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got doubts over their squad 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’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010. Meanwhile, it's the strongest English team since 2010. These factors point towards the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant contest." Parallel to Historic Series "Australia have been so consistent for a long period of time that it was clear who would open the batting, who would bat, which bowlers were available, and they lack that certainty now. It’s very much a comparable scenario to the 2010-11 period when England went and won there. The fact of the matter is Australia generally have to be bad to be defeated at home and England have to be very good. England have a great chance 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 selection at the number three position, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Cook, whose 766 runs set up the tourists’ series win 15 years ago, believes it would be "strange" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Pope, who has been a consistent at number three for the past three seasons. "I'd select Ollie Pope at three," said Cook. "I think it’s quite an easy decision. They have a player who has been involved in this preparation for several years. He has led the team, he has delivered remarkable performances 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 believe that changes the whole dynamic of what they’ve built up over the recent years." While hailing Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook said: "It would be a major risk [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work what is the fallback option, someone you’ve just got rid of? They’ve invested so much in players such as Pope and [Crawley that it would seem highly odd to make a switch at this stage." Leadership Shift and Commentary Team Pope has been replaced by Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, according to Cook, that will "take the pressure off" the Surrey right-hander. "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 it's evident that he appears a natural fit. This will relieve Pope. I don’t think undermine him. Certainly it will have hurt him because anytime you get taken off a leadership role it isn't perfect, but I don’t think it undermines him." Cook will be in the host nation as part of the broadcast team of the Ashes, and will be joined by former Ashes champions Steven Finn and Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will operate a hybrid model, with commentators Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while Cook, Finn and Swann deliver expert analysis from Australia. Rainford-Brent is also part of the broadcast team working off-site, with the on-ground coverage to be hosted by Becky Ives.