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The war of words before the Ashes continues to heat up, with ex-England paceman Broad declaring that England will confront "probably the worst Australian team in over a decade" on tour this season.

David Warner's Confident Forecast Met With Doubt

Broad's assertion was in response to Warner – a long-time Ashes rival – forecasting 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 men’s Ashes match on home soil since England’s series win in 2010-11. Their 5-0 win three years later – following seven losses in their last nine matches – came before 4-0 series victories in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Squad Uncertainty and Injury Worries for the Hosts

However, the No 1-ranked Test side, who have suffered just a single defeat of their last thirteen series, enter the upcoming assignment with uncertainty 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 very, very difficult to win in Australia as an England side, or any side," said Broad during his podcast. "The Australians are massive favourites."

"Australia are under the most pressure because they’re anticipated to prevail, they’re brilliant at home, but they’ve got question marks over their team and concerns over their captain’s fitness. It's not unreasonable in believing – this isn't merely a view, it's a reality – it’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010. And it’s the best England squad since 2010. So those things match up to the reality that it’s going to be a thrilling contest."

Comparison to 2010-11 Series

"The Australians have remained highly stable for a long period of time that it was clear who would open the batting, who would bat, which bowlers were available, and they don’t have that. It’s very much a comparable scenario to 2010-11 when England traveled and emerged victorious. The fact of the matter is Australia generally have to be bad to lose in Australia and England must excel. England have a great chance of performing exceptionally and the Australians face a real possibility of underperforming."

Team Dilemma for England

A major issue for the English camp remains their choice at No 3, with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell vying for the role. Cook, whose prolific scoring paved the way for the tourists’ series win over a decade past, believes it would be "strange" for Ben Stokes’ side to abandon Ollie Pope, who has been a consistent at number three for the last three years.

"I would bat Pope at number three," said Cook. "In my view it’s a straightforward decision. They have someone who’s been involved in this preparation for several years. He’s captained the side, he’s played remarkable performances for England and he scores centuries. 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 Bethell as "a hugely gifted cricketer", Cook added: "It would represent a big, big gamble [to pick him] because should it fail 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 [Zak] Crawley that it would seem such a strange thing to change it now."

Captaincy Change and Broadcast Crew

Ollie Pope has been succeeded by Harry Brook as the team's deputy skipper but, as per Cook, that will "ease the burden on" the Surrey batsman.

"The management has acted decisively on that, considering in case of an injury to Ben Stokes, they’ve got a guy in Brook who has taken the [captaincy of the] one-day side and it's evident that he seems to be a natural fit. This will relieve Pope. I believe it won't undermine him. Certainly it will have hurt him because anytime you get taken off a leadership thing 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 former Ashes champions Steven Finn and Graeme Swann as on-the-ground pundits. The network will offer a dedicated commentary stream but will use a mixed approach, with commentators Alastair Eykyn and Hatch to work off-site in the UK, while the trio provide co-commentary from on location. Rainford-Brent is also part of the commentary team working off-site, with the live presentation to be presented by Becky Ives.