And despite the bevy of quality quicks at England’s disposal, Anderson believes Australia still enters the series as slight favourites.
“There are question marks there, and definitely there are cracks that England could potentially expose. There’s a great chance for England to get on top early,” Anderson told TNT Sports.
“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.”
Australia’s squad (first Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England’s squad: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
Series schedule:
First Test: Perth Stadium, November 21-25
Second Test: Gabba, December 4-8
Third Test: Adelaide Oval, December 17-21
Fourth Test: MCG, December 26-30
Fifth Test: SCG, January 4-8
