Stuart Broad calls Australia ‘weaker side’, questions Pat Cummins and top spot ahead of Ashes | Cricket News
Former England cricket star Stuart Broad has criticized the current Australian cricket team ahead of the upcoming Ashes series, describing them as the weakest Australian team since 2010, while responding to Australian opener David Warner’s prediction of a 4-0 victory for Australia and his comments about England playing for a “moral victory”.Broad, who recently retired after the 2023 Ashes series and now works as a television commentator, highlighted his concerns about Australia’s top-order batting and the unstable nature of their line-up.The former England pacer highlighted the uncertain availability of Australian captain Pat Cummins for the opening Test in Perth on November 21 as a major concern for the home side.“You wouldn’t be far-fetched to think – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – this is probably the worst Australian team since 2010, when England last won, and this is the best England team since 2010,” Broad told the BBC’s For the Love of Cricket podcast. “So those things fit in with the fact that it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series.”Broad, who featured in England’s successful 2010–11 Ashes campaign in Australia where they won 3–1 under André Strauss‘s leadership rose to prominence in the series thanks to his remarkable bowling performance of 8-15 at Trent Bridge in 2015.His relationship with the Australian public became controversial after the 2013 incident in which he refused to walk after slipping a ball, earning him Ashes villain status.Broad acknowledged the historical difficulty of winning in Australia, but highlighted the current vulnerabilities of the Australian team, particularly with the uncertainty surrounding players like Marnus Labuschagne, Sam Konstas and Beau Webster.“It’s very, very difficult to win in Australia as an England team or any team – that’s just the case,” Broad said. “Australia have to be big favourites. The question was really ‘which team is under the most pressure?’ Well, it’s Australia who are under the most pressure because they’re expected to win. They are brilliant at home.”The former England bowler specifically addressed the leadership and team composition issues facing Australia.“But they have question marks on their team and question marks on the captain (Pat Cummins),” Broad said. “Australia were so consistent for a long period of time that you 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 reinforced his assessment of where the current Australian team stands compared to previous teams.“I don’t think anyone can say that this is their weakest team since 2010… that’s just a fact,” he concluded.Broad and Warner’s comments intensified the pre-series dialogue between the two cricketing nations, paving the way for the opening Test in Perth on November 21.These exchanges are a continuation of the traditional verbal sparring between England and Australia before Ashes, adding another chapter to the historic cricket rivalry between the two nations.The upcoming series will test both Broad’s assessment of the Australian team’s perceived weaknesses and Warner’s confident prediction of a dominant home victory.
