🔗 Share this article

The pre-Ashes verbal sparring continues to heat up, with ex-England paceman Broad stating that the English side will confront "probably the worst Aussie squad since 2010" during their 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 – predicting a 4-0 victory for the home side. "Should the skipper [Pat Cummins] be absent, they could perhaps snatch a single victory," Warner said.

Australia have not lost a Ashes match on home soil since England’s series win in 2010-11. The subsequent 5-0 whitewash in the following series – on the back of seven defeats in their last nine matches – was followed by 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 lost only one of their past 13 bilateral series, approach the forthcoming contest with questions over the makeup of their batting lineup and the health of Cummins, who is unlikely to feature in the first Test at Perth because of a back issue.

"It’s very, very difficult to win in Australia as an English team, or any side," said Broad during his podcast. "Australia have to be massive favourites."

"Australia are under the greatest expectations 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 thinking – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it’s probably the weakest Aussie lineup since 2010. Meanwhile, it's the strongest English team since 2010. So those things match up to the fact that it’s going to be a thrilling contest."

Parallel to Historic Series

"Australia have been highly stable for a prolonged duration that it was clear who was going to open the innings, who was going to bat, which bowlers were available, and they don’t have that. It’s very much a similar situation to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The reality is Australia generally have to be bad to be defeated at home and England must excel. England have a great chance of being very good and the Australians face a real possibility of being bad."

Selection Decision for the Visitors

A major issue for England remains their choice at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell contesting the spot. Alastair Cook, whose 766 runs set up the tourists’ series win 15 years ago, thinks it would be "strange" for Ben Stokes’ side to move away from Pope, who has been a regular at first drop for the past three seasons.

"I'd select Ollie Pope at three," said Cook. "I think it’s quite an easy choice. They have a player who has been part of this buildup for three or four years. He has led the team, he’s played remarkable performances for the national side and he scores centuries. He knows how to score hundreds in first-class cricket. If they drop him now, I believe that alters the entire balance of what they’ve built up over the last few years."

Although praising Bethell as "an incredibly talented player", Cook added: "It would represent a major risk [to pick him] because if that doesn’t work what is the fallback option, a player you recently discarded? They’ve invested so much in players such as Ollie Pope and [Crawley that it would seem highly odd to make a switch at this stage."

Captaincy Shift and Commentary Team

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

"They’ve been proactive on that, considering in case of 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. That will just take the pressure off. I don’t think undermine him. Certainly it will have disappointed him because anytime you get taken off a leadership role it wouldn’t be ideal, but I doubt it undermines him."

Cook will be in the host nation as part of TNT’s coverage of the Ashes, 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 commentators Alastair Eykyn and Hatch based remotely in the United Kingdom, while the trio deliver expert analysis from Australia. Ebony Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team operating remotely, with the live presentation to be presented by Becky Ives.