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The tourists have kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by naming slow bowler the young spinner in a twelve-player team combined with five seamers

Mark Wood has been passed fit and seems set to play facing the hosts in Perth on Friday, with the last selection possibly coming down to spinner Bashir and fast bowler Carse

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four specialists combined with all-rounder the captain - it would potentially be the most rapid assembly of bowlers they have used in an Ashes Test in this country

On Wednesday Western Australia wicket preparer the curator said to look for "speed and bounce" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it seems likely the English will stick to a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

Yet the English team have also observed a dryness to the pitch, putting the spinner into the running

Spin Considerations

During the brief existence of the ground - five prior matches have been hosted here - Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

The team have favored Shoaib, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in spring he became the most youthful English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

But he has missed a official match after taking the concluding scalp in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the third Test at the famous ground in summer

Current Concerns

The spinner has been recovering from a hand problem and found it difficult in the single preparation match against the Lions, returning overall statistics of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

It also raises the scenario of Bashir playing in an Ashes Test without being attached to a domestic team

His deal at his county expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an England team including Wood, Archer, Atkinson, captain Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching high speeds - remains the most likely outcome

The initial game begins at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and real-time features accessible

England Squad

England squad for series opener: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a several England Ashes triumphs at home and abroad have been constructed around fast bowling, they have never fielded as numerous fast bowlers in the identical lineup

The side that triumphed at domestically in the famous series of 2005 featured Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's successful touring team to Australia in 1970-71 had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that succeeded in 1954-55 included Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in modern times - England are hoping to reverse an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test match in Australia since over a decade ago

Just five players of the 16-man squad have experienced a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson states that could work in England's favour

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

"There are a numerous athletes who have said they have had challenging periods down under

"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, highly optimistic group

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"We all see it as a great possibility to achieve something remarkable"

Opposition News

Australia's training on this week was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

The hosts are probably going to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with new seamer Brendan Doggett also coming in following injuries to captain Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood