Brisbane – It's the game before the games, the chatter for the Ashes.

And well-known former protagonists from Australia and England have started the verbal jousting that comes with one of the oldest sporting rivalries in the world.

Ex-Australia opening batter David Warner raised the level this week when he said the Australians were competing to win the Ashes, while England would be playing for a“moral victory” for its so-called Bazball approach to test cricket.

Warner predicted a 4-0 win for Australia - expecting the weather inevitably to play some part in a draw along the way - although suggested England could win one test if Australia skipper Pat Cummins is ruled out through injury.

Stuart Broad, a longtime pace spearhead for England, upped the ante by declaring Australia's squad will be the worst to wear the baggy green since 2010-11.

“It's probably the worst Australian team since 2010 when England last won, and it's the best English team since 2010,” Broad told a BBC podcast.“It's actually not an opinion, it's fact.

“So those things match up to the fact it's going to be a brilliant Ashes series.”

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