Ashes villain Stuart Broad has launched an early attack labelling the Australian outfit set to take on England the “weakest team since 2010” as the pre-series banter moves from warm to red-hot.
After former Australian opener David Warner derided the English team declaring they are playing for a “moral victory” rather than a series victory, and predicted a 4-0 Aussie win, Broad returned serve.
Now a TV commentator, having played his last Test in the final game of the spicy 2023 Ashes series, Broad called out the questions over Australia’s top-order batting and the unsettled nature of the line-up.
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He also pointed to the fact Australian captain, Pat Cummins, was an unlikely starter for the opening Test in Perth on November 21 and questioned the capacity of the home side to dominate the Ashes as they have for the past 15 years.
“You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010 when England last won, and it’s the best English team since 2010,” Broad told the BBC’s For the Love of Cricket podcast.
“So those things match up to the fact it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series.”
Broad was a member of the England squad when they last won in Australia in 2010-2011, winning 3-1 under captain Andrew Strauss to retain the urn, and took 8-15 in the 2015 series at Trent Bridge to underline his status as a key to his team.
But he took on the role of Ashes villain after refusing to walk after edging a ball to slip in 2013.
He acknowledge just how hard it is to win in Australia but was adamant the lack of sure things in the home team, with Marnus Labuschagne, Sam Konstas and even Beau Webster potentially in the line-up by not locked, made them vulnerable.
“It’s very, very difficult to win in Australia as an England side, or any side – it just is.”
“Australia have to be massive favourites. The question really was ‘which team’s under the most pressure?‘ Well, Australia are 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 captain (Pat Cummins).
“Australia have been so consistent for a long period of time that you just knew who was going to open the batting, who was going to bat where, what bowlers there were – and they don’t have that.
“I don’t think anyone could argue that it’s their weakest team since 2010… it’s just a fact.”
