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England have left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by including spin bowler Bashir in a squad of twelve together with five pace bowlers

Mark Wood has been passed fit and appears likely to feature against Australia in Western Australia on the weekend, with the ultimate choice possibly between off-spinner Bashir and fast bowler the seamer

Ground Situation

If England opt for an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers plus all-rounder Stokes - it would potentially be the quickest collection of bowlers they have fielded in an Test against Australia in this country

Recently local pitch curator McDonald stated to look for "speed and bounce" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will stick to a established strategy of an pace-only strategy

However the tourists have also observed a dryness to the surface, putting the off-spinner into the running

Slow Bowling Factors

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five prior matches have been staged here - Australia spin bowler Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The team have backed the young spinner, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in May he became the least experienced English bowler to attain fifty wickets in international Tests

However he has missed a competitive game after claiming the concluding scalp in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the third Test at Lord's in summer

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been recovering from a broken finger and struggled in the single preparation match against the development squad, returning combined figures of 2-151 from his bowling spell

It also raises the prospect of him competing in an Ashes Test without being attached to a domestic team

The agreement at Somerset ended at the finish of the English season

Expected Selection

Nevertheless, an English side including Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Carse - each of whom are likely to hit 90mph - remains the probable result

The initial game begins at early morning GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and real-time features provided

England Squad

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a several England Ashes triumphs at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as numerous fast bowlers in the equivalent side

The team that won at domestically in the celebrated contest of 2005 included Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's triumphant visitors to the host nation in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in 1954-55 included Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated England-Australia contests in modern times - the English team are looking to overturn an difficult past - they have not won a Test in the host country since that year

Merely five individuals of the sixteen-player group have experienced a Test match in Australia, but the bowler states that could help the visitors

"This might be an positive," he told media outlets

"We've seen a lot of players who have stated they have had some tough times in this country

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

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to do something special"

Australian Preparations

The host team's net session on this week was temporarily interrupted by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are probably going to give a debut to opener Jack Weatherald, with new fast bowler Brendan Doggett also being included after health issues to captain Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood