Stuart Broad has lit the touch paper for the Ashes series by claiming that Australia’s team for this summer will be their worst since England’s 3-1 thrashing of the team led by Ricky Ponting 15 years ago.
The provocative claim, made by Broad on his podcast with fellow England cricketer Jos Buttler, kicked off on the basis that Australia will be missing captain Pat Cummins from the first Test in Perth and perhaps the bulk of the series.
Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad.Credit: Getty Images
“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 said.
“So those things match up to the fact it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series.”
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In addition to the doubts around Cummins, Broad also pointed to the uncertainties around the composition of the Australian top six, with the likes of Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Konstas vying for a spot and conjecture about where Cameron Green and Steve Smith are going to bat.
But it is a far more settled side than the 2010-11 group, which got home from a 2-0 series defeat in India and were then unbalanced by the naming of an unprecedented and never again repeated 17-man squad for the first Test at the Gabba after Cricket Australia gave the selectors and early deadline to announce their team.
“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,” Broad said.
“It’s very much a similar situation to 2010-2011 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.
