England cricket legend James Anderson has backed Australia to win the upcoming Ashes series, despite agreeing with his former teammate Stuart Broad that the hosts have their “weakest” team in 15 years. Broad had earlier said that the current Australian side is the worst since 2010, following ex-opener David Warner’s prediction of a 4-0 series defeat for England.
What did Anderson say? And does he have a reason?
“I don’t think England are quite favourites, I’d say Australia are still favourites, in Australia,” Anderson told TNT Sports.
Australia’s batting order for the top three positions remains uncertain. Usman Khawaja is set to open, but there are questions over whether to give a debut to opener Jake Weatherald or recall Marnus Labuschagne as an opener or at number three. There’s also uncertainty over all-rounder Cameron Green’s position in the order. Anderson believes these issues make this Australia’s “weakest team” since 2010-11.
“There are question marks there, definitely, and there are cracks that England could potentially expose,” he added. “There’s a great chance for England to get on top early.”
However, despite Cummins’s absence, Anderson believes there’s still a lot of “quality” in Australia’s batting and bowling line-up. “They probably just edge out England in terms of being favourites, but I don’t think there’s much in it. It’s a tough one to call, so I’d say Australia, just,” he said.
Australia vs England in The Ashes: Overall H2H record
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