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England have left decisions open for the series opener by including spin bowler the young spinner in a 12-man squad alongside five seamers

Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth on Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly involving spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four dedicated bowlers combined with all-rounder Ben Stokes - it would potentially be the most rapid assembly of seamers they have used in an Test against Australia in Australia

On Wednesday local wicket preparer McDonald said to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the wicket at Perth Stadium, and it appears probable the English will follow a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the English team have also noted a dryness to the wicket, putting Bashir into consideration

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five prior matches have been staged here - Australian off-spinner the experienced spinner is the most successful bowler with 29

The team have favored Shoaib, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in spring he was recognized as the most youthful English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

Yet he has missed a official match since taking the final wicket in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third match at the famous ground in recently

Recent Issues

The spinner has been out with a broken finger and struggled in the single preparation match against the development squad, posting overall statistics of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

It also raises the scenario of him participating in an Test against Australia without being contracted with a first-class side

His contract at Somerset ended at the end of the home summer

Likely Lineup

However, an visiting team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, leader Ben Stokes and Carse - each of whom are likely to hit high speeds - stays the expected conclusion

The opening match begins at 02:20 GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights provided

Playing Group

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (wk), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a various English Ashes victories at in England and overseas have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

The lineup that won at domestically in the famous series of 2005 Ashes contained Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the English side that triumphed in those seasons included Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated Test series in recent years - the English team are hoping to overturn an awful record - they have failed to win a five-day game in the host country since over a decade ago

Merely five individuals of the 16-man squad have participated in a Test match in the host nation, but the bowler comments that could help the visitors

"This could represent an advantage," he told reporters

"There have been a numerous athletes who have mentioned they have had challenging periods in this country

"For us, we are a very relaxed, extremely confident group

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

"Everyone considers it a massive chance to create history"

Host Team Situation

The Australian training on recently was temporarily interrupted by the risk of storms

The hosts are expected to hand a first cap to opener Weatherald, with new seamer Brendan Doggett also joining after health issues to captain Pat Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood