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England have left decisions open for the first Ashes Test by including off-spinner Bashir in a 12-man squad together with five seamers

Mark Wood is declared fit and is expected to participate facing the hosts in Perth on the weekend, with the last selection probably involving the young spinner and pace bowler the seamer

Wicket Factors

If the visitors select an all-pace attack - four main pacers plus all-rounder the captain - it would possibly be the fastest group of bowlers they have fielded in an Ashes Test in this country

Earlier this week Western Australia pitch curator McDonald said to anticipate "speed and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will follow a traditional approach of an exclusively pace attack

But the English team have also spotted a dryness to the pitch, bringing Bashir into contention

Spin Considerations

In the short history of the ground - five prior matches have been hosted here - Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

England have backed Bashir, twenty-two, as their first-choice spinner for over twelve months and in recent months he became the youngest England bowler to attain fifty wickets in Tests

But he has missed a official match since claiming the concluding scalp in a dramatic victory over India in the final Test at the famous ground in summer

Recent Issues

The spinner has been out with a hand problem and struggled in the single preparation match against England Lions, recording combined figures of 2-151 from twenty-four overs

It also raises the possibility of him participating in an Test against Australia without being attached to a county

His deal at Somerset ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an visiting team containing Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, captain Stokes and Carse - every one of them are able to achieve 90mph - stays the most likely outcome

The initial game begins at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, Test Match Special commentary and in-play highlights accessible

Playing Group

England squad for series opener: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

While a various English Ashes victories at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the identical lineup

The lineup that succeeded at home in the memorable competition of that year contained Steve Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

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

Modern Context

On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in modern times - the English team are looking to reverse an awful record - they have failed to win a five-day game in Australia since over a decade ago

Only five members of the 16-man squad have played a Test match in the host nation, but the bowler comments that could work in England's favour

"This could represent an advantage," he explained to media outlets

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

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, highly optimistic group

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to create history"

Australian Preparations

The Australian practice session on this week was momentarily paused by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are probably going to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with new pace bowler Doggett also being included due to fitness concerns to captain Cummins and colleague Hazlewood