With the Ashes just over a month away, the verbal volleys have already been in full swing. The latest player to fire a fresh salvo is former England pacer Stuart Broad, who has declared the current Australian team is the worst since the 2010-11 Ashes series which they lost 3-1 Down Under.
Last week, England opener Zak Crawley had said ‘Bazball winds them up’ in an apparent dig at Australia which is looking to retain the urn they claimed in 2022. Despite not having won a Test in Australia since the 2010-11 tour, England are optimistic about their chances this time, particularly after Pat Cummins’s participation in the Ashes is under doubt because of a back injury.
Since the 90s, Australia have lost Ashes only once at home, and face a tough challenge ahead as there is still no clarity as to who will open with Usman Khawaja at the top. The hosts batting appears thin with Steve Smith, expected to captain in Cummins absence, set to shoulder much of the responsibility.
“It’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010 when England last won, and it’s the best English team since 2010,” Broad, told on his BBC Podcast For The Love of Cricket hosted with Jos Buttler. “It’s actually not an opinion, it’s fact. So those things match up to the fact it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series,” he added.
Earlier, David Warner had made a bold prediction that Australia would win the series 4-0 and claimed England were playing only for a moral victory. And Broad explained the reasons as to why the current Australian team is weak. “”When we have ever, since 2010, been discussing who is going to bat No.1, 2, 3, 6, 8 and who is going to be the spare bowler for Australia. You’re always go in there going: ‘well,the Aussies, they’re really strong. They’ve just got the same bowlers, the same team’. But in 2010, when they were trying to replace [Glenn] McGrath, [Shane] Warne, [Matthew] Hayden, [Justin] Langer, they didn’t have a spinner. They changed the seamers all the time, and they had a bit of a mixed match of batters. So I don’t think anyone could argue that it’s their weakest team since 2010,” Broad, who had several memorable duels with his arch-rivals, said.
This will be the second Ashes series since the Bazball era began for England. The first series ended in a 2-2 draw in England.
