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England have maintained flexibility for the first Ashes Test by selecting slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve combined with five fast bowlers

Wood has recovered and is expected to participate versus the Aussies in Western Australia on Friday, with the last selection probably coming down to the young spinner and seamer the seamer

Pitch Conditions

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four main pacers along with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would potentially be the most rapid assembly of pacemen they have deployed in an Test against Australia in this country

On Wednesday WA pitch curator the curator said to expect "speed and bounce" from the wicket at the stadium, and it appears probable the English will adhere to a traditional approach of an exclusively pace attack

But the visitors have also noted a dryness to the wicket, putting the off-spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

During the brief existence of Perth Stadium - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australian spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29

England have favored Bashir, 22, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in May he was recognized as the most youthful English bowler to achieve half-century of wickets in Test matches

Yet he has missed a competitive game since securing the final wicket in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the third match at the famous ground in summer

Current Concerns

The spinner has been recovering from a hand problem and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, returning match figures of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

It also raises the prospect of Bashir participating in an Test against Australia without being attached to a domestic team

His contract at the domestic team ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an England team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Stokes and Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching high speeds - continues to be the probable result

The initial game commences at early morning GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, Test Match Special commentary and real-time features accessible

Playing Group

Team lineup for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (skipper), Smith (wk), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

Even though a various England Ashes triumphs at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

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

The captain's successful touring team to the host nation in that era had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the English side that triumphed in 1954-55 included Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Present Circumstances

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in modern times - the visitors are hoping to change an difficult past - they have not won a Test match in Australia since that year

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

"This might be an benefit," he told reporters

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have mentioned they have had challenging periods down under

"For us, we are a extremely composed, highly optimistic squad

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"Everyone considers it a great possibility to achieve something remarkable"

Australian Preparations

The host team's training on recently was momentarily paused by the risk of storms

The home side are likely to give a debut to batsman Weatherald, with uncapped seamer Doggett also being included due to injuries to captain Cummins and teammate Hazlewood