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England have kept their options open for the first Ashes Test by selecting spin bowler Bashir in a squad of twelve combined with five fast bowlers

Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature against Australia in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly coming down to the young spinner and fast bowler Carse

Wicket Factors

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists combined with all-rounder Ben Stokes - it would potentially be the fastest group of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes match in this country

Recently local pitch curator Isaac McDonald commented to anticipate "fast and bouncy conditions" from the surface at the venue, and it looks possible the English will adhere to a established strategy of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the visitors have also observed a lack of moisture to the wicket, putting the spinner into the running

Slow Bowling Factors

In the short history of the ground - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29

The team have supported Shoaib, twenty-two, as their primary spin option for more than a year and in spring he became the most youthful English bowler to achieve 50 wickets in international Tests

However he has been absent from a official match after taking the final wicket in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the third Test at the famous ground in recently

Recent Issues

He has been recovering from a broken finger and had challenges in the sole practice game against the development squad, recording overall statistics of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

It also raises the scenario of him competing in an Ashes match without being attached to a first-class side

The agreement at the domestic team ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Expected Selection

Nevertheless, an England team containing Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Stokes and Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the expected conclusion

The first Test begins at early morning GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, expert analysis and in-play highlights available

England Squad

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Stokes (skipper), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Even though a several successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the identical lineup

The team that won at domestically in the famous series of that year included Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the England team that won in 1954-55 included Brian Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated Test series in modern times - the English team are looking to reverse an difficult past - they have not won a five-day game in the host country since 2011

Merely five individuals of the 16-man squad have played a international Test in the host nation, but Atkinson states that could work in England's favour

"This could represent an advantage," he explained to the press

"There are a lot of players who have stated they have had challenging periods here in Australia

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

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"The entire team views it as a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"

Opposition News

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

The hosts are probably going to provide an opportunity to batsman Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Brendan Doggett also being included after injuries to skipper Pat Cummins and colleague Hazlewood