Ash: Advantage England as problems are mounted for 'Worst Australia -Team since 2010'?

Usually it is England with the big questions in front of an Awees series.

Will batting turn out to be crispy? Will there be enough poison in the bowling attack? Will they avoid Australia legend Glenn McGrath’s prediction of a 5-0 (always 5-0) defeat?

Over the last three trips, batting has turned out to be crispy, and the bowling has been missing poison, but England has only suffered a 5-0 loss during that time, in 2013/14-nundlipper ‘with marginally more tasty 4-0 drubbinger in 2017/18 and 2021/22.

Drawing in Melbourne eight years ago when Sir Alastair Cook scored a double ton in the most benign seats, and in Sydney just over four years back when the Last-Wicket Pair Stuart Broad and James Anderson saw the last two overs, prevented 5-0 sweeps.

These respective stalemates on MCG and SCG felt like minor victories at the time of England, but this time is the only victory that will do, a first series of these parts since Sir Andrew Strauss’ Class 2010/11 – because it feels very possible.

England plays, with Broad’s words, “probably the worst Australian team since 2010” that adds while speaking to BBC podcast For the love of cricket“I don’t think anyone could claim it’s not their weakest team. It’s just a fact.”

Broad is “probably” right, although it is mainly because past iterations of the page – those with David Warner dazzling at the top of the order, Steve Smith, who is fighting out, runs out in the idiosyncratic way of his and a merciless bowling unit – has been excellent.

Of course, it would be unwilling to write off Australia with plenty of time for this English optimism to fade in front of the Series opener in Perth from November 21, but the problems are mounted for the nation to have a cast iron grip on urn since 2017/18.

Cummin’s concerns and a fighting top order

These questions were largely limited to batting – we don’t look closer to knowing the exact composition of the top three – but now there is concern about the bowling spear tip and Captain Pat Cummins.

Great concern.

He has not played since July because of a back injury and considers himself ‘unlikely’ to be suitable for the Perth test. There is talk in Australia – even if it is just to give England a bum control – that cummins can miss the entire series. It would be a titanic blow.

Australia would not only be cut off by their leader and a complete bowler, but also useful races at No. 8. We only have to go back to the first test of the 2023-ash in Edgbaston as Cummins led his men to a nerve crime victory to see how important these can be.

The reliable Scott Boland would be a skilled deputy as the third fast with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, but beyond that?

The life of cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, all now in the 30s, means that Australia’s other pacers are short or gentle with testing experience, while some (Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson) are currently injured.

Back to Batting, and it was a horror show for the top three under 3-0 celebration in the West Indies in June and July with Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas and Cameron Green, who just steered a lonely fifty between them -Green hits it in Grenada.

It seems that 38-year-old Khawaja, who has an average of a candy over 30 in tests since January 2024, and Green holds their spots, but as partners Khawaja at the top of the order is still ready for debate and there is not really an excellent candidate.

Marnus Labuschant, perhaps, has returned to form with centuries in domestic cricket, but he would turn out of position that opens. No. 3 is his bread and butter.

Other options are young and promising (Konstas, Campbell Kellaway), had a trip before, but not really spiking it (Cameron Bancroft, Nathan McSsweey, Marcus Harris) or experienced domestic but did not test internationally (Jake Weatherald, Henry Hunt).

Will England continue with pope – or take a ‘big gamble’?

England has far fewer decisions to make, with the most important to choose on # 3 – either the player in Ollie Pope or the upcoming man in Jacob Bethell.

Cook, there will be a TNT Sports Pundit for the series, has supported the pope and said it would be “a big, big gamble” and “weird” that jettison a player so rooted in the setup and risks disturbing the “dynamic” that has been built. We are waiting to see if England agrees.

While they mull it, there is encouraging news about fitness of talismanic skipper Ben Stokes and Pace Ace Mark Wood as they recover after shoulder and knee questions respectively, where Brydon Carse says his teammates are approaching “100 percent”.

Kidology or not from Carse, it adds the positive mood around England camp when the opposite seems to be true to the hosts’ and you sense Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, etc. will lick their lips on the prospects of hiding to Australia’s fragile supreme order.

England’s fans should not fool themselves into thinking that this will be easy: Lord Ian Botham has slammed a streamlined preparation that he feels “boundaries on arrogance” and we know too well what can happen if things start to go wrong on an Ashes tour.

Warner has also in Chimet in and says that despite Cummins’ fitness confusions and potential batting weaknesses Australia will win the series 4-0 as England will be too busy with a “moral victory”.

But an ‘actual victory’ looks achievable here. What has “probably the worst Australian team since 2010” got in response?

Ashes series in Australia 2025-26

All times UK and Ireland

First test: Friday 21. November – Tuesday, November 25 (2.30) – Optus Stadium, Perth
Second test (day/night): Thursday 4th December – Monday 8th December (16.30) – Gabba, Brisbane
Third Test: Wednesday, December 17 – Sunday 21 December (12:00) – Adelaide oval
Fourth Test: Thursday, December 25 – Monday 29 December (11.30 pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
Fifth Test: Sunday 4th January – Thursday 8th January (11.30 pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground