Stuart Broad feels England have the strongest team since their 2010-11 Ashes victory, making them a genuine contender to win the upcoming edition.
David Warner was part of the 2023 Ashes when his Australia retained the urn with a 2-2 draw in England. Going into the final Test, England’s Harry Brook claimed that if his team settled for a draw, it would be a "moral victory" for his side.
On Monday, Warner took a sly dig at England – hinting at Brook’s comments – when asked which side's approach would come out on top, England or Australia.
"The Australian way, because we're playing for the Ashes and they're playing for a moral victory," Warner said at Kayo Sports and Fox Sports’ Summer of Cricket launch in Parramatta. "I think [Australia will win] 4-0. There's going to be a washout somewhere, generally Sydney. If the captain doesn't play they might win one game."
Stuart Broad responds to David Warner's jab
While acknowledging the difficulty of beating Australia on their home soil, Broad believes this is England's best team since they last achieved that feat in the 2010/11 Ashes. He also stated that the pressure will be on Australia due to the high expectations for them to win.
"Difficult to win in Australia as an England side, or any side. Australia," Broad said on the Love of Cricket podcast. "Have to be massive favourites when the question really was, who, which team is under the most pressure? Well, Australia, under the most pressure because they're expected to win. They're brilliant at home, but they've got question marks over their team.
"And question marks over the captain [Pat Cummins], the fitness. You wouldn't be outlandish and thinking, well, it's actually not an opinion. It's a fact, it's probably the worst Australian team since 2010, and it's the best English team since 2010. So those things match up. In fact, it's going to be a brilliant Asher series."
Australia have headaches to address before selecting their team. The dilemma starts right at the top with who will partner Usman Khawaja as an opener. While Sam Konstas had a torrid outing in the West Indies, he showed promise on the India tour for the 'A' side. With Marnus Labuschagne losing his No. 3 spot due to poor form, a question remains as to whether he will be called back. To add to their woes, the Australian captain is a doubtful starter as he will reportedly "need careful managing of his workload".
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Broad: It's Australia's weakest team since 2010
Broad feels that with Australia's line-up being unsettled, England has a realistic chance to repeat their 2010/11 Ashes success: "You know, Australia have been so consistent for a long period of time that you just knew who was going to open the bat, and who was giving back, what bowlers there were. And they don't have that.
"And it's very much a similar situation to 2010/11 when England went and won there. The fact of the matter is Australia, generally have to be bad to lose in Australia and England have to be very good. England, have a great chance of being very good, while Australia have a decent chance of being bad.
"When have we ever, since 2010, been discussing who's gonna bat one, two, three, six, eight? And who's going to be the spare bowler for Australia?
"But in 2010, they were trying to replace Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. They didn't have a spinner. They changed the seamers all the time. And add a bit of a mix and match of batters. So, I think I don't think anyone could argue that, it's their weakest team since 2010."
Ever since Brendon McCullum was appointed England's Test coach, they have won 25 matches – the most by any team, followed by Australia, who have won 23. However, Australia have a better win/loss ratio of 2.875 compared to England’s 1.785. The first Test will be played from November 21 in Perth.
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