As the pre-Ashes predictions from former greats multiply with a week to go until the opening Perth Test, one of the more surprising has come from England pace maestro James Anderson, who's tipped Australia as slight favourites to retain the urn.
Anderson, the recently knighted 43-year-old still going strong for Lancashire some 14 years since he helped bowl England to their last Ashes series win 'down under', goes along with his pace partner Stuart Broad's theory that the home side will be Australia's weakest since that 2010-11 tour.
But he still rates England the underdogs, going against the fond practice of former greats backing their team to win the urn. Like David Warner, who's tipped the hosts to win 4-0 and Glenn McGrath, who naturally has given his traditional '5-0 to Australia' tip.
But the English tipsters are much more circumspect, especially when considering the recent grim record of just two draws and 13 defeats in the last 15 Tests played in Australia.
Still, Alastair Cook is going for 3-1, Graeme Swann 3-2 and Steven Finn 3-2 - all in England's favour.
But former England captain Michael Vaughan goes against the grain of flying the flag, suggesting Australia will win 3-1 while Anderson had the hosts as even firmer favourites until the recent concerns over captain Pat Cummins' fitness.
"Australia have been so strong and so consistent in their team selection over the last 10 years, that this probably is their weakest team (in the last 15 years)," Anderson told TNT Sports.
"There are doubts around who's going to bat in the top three, Pat Cummins missing is huge. There are question marks there, definitely, and there are cracks that England could potentially expose. There's a great chance for England to get on top early.
"But I don't think England are quite favourites, I'd say Australia are still favourites, in Australia. There's still a lot of quality in their batting line-up, there's still a lot of quality with their bowlers as well, even if Cummins is missing.
"It's a tough one to call, so I'd say Australia, just."
Meanwhile, Finn feels the renewal of battle between the great Aussie batter Steve Smith and England strike bowler Jofra Archer, following their titanic 2019 clashes, could prove key.
If the 30-year-old Archer is fit and firing after countless injury woes, it could be game-changer for the visitors, believes Finn.
"I think Smith will be wary of what happened in 2019 because Jofra is a very good bowler. But he was tweeting back to people the other day reminding them that Jofra has never got him out in a Test match," said Finn, who was part of that 2010-11 winning England side.
"It could be a pivotal moment within the series. Both players will believe that they can win that situation, which will be riveting to watch."
But Finn warned England would be foolhardy to believe 36-year-old Smith might be on the wane.
"Judging by what I've seen in the Sheffield Shield over the last couple of weeks, I'd say he's still at the peak of his powers," said Finn.
"He's moved back to his favourable position of No.4. He doesn't seem as obsessed with cricket as maybe he used to be, which at his age is something that's healthy to keep that fight and desire when you're out there in the middle.
"I would be very, very wary of Steve Smith if I was England."
With agencies
