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The tourists have maintained flexibility for the series opener by selecting slow bowler Bashir in a 12-man squad alongside five fast bowlers

Wood is declared fit and appears likely to feature against Australia in Western Australia on the weekend, with the final decision likely coming down to the young spinner and seamer Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

If England opt for an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists combined with all-rounder Stokes - it would possibly be the quickest collection of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes Test in this country

Earlier this week Western Australia wicket preparer McDonald stated to look for "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it seems likely the English will stick to a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

However the visitors have also spotted a lack of moisture to the wicket, placing Bashir into contention

Spin Considerations

In the short history of this venue - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29

The English management have supported Shoaib, 22, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in recent months he became the youngest England bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

Yet he has not played a competitive game after taking the final wicket in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in July

Current Concerns

Bashir has been suffering from a broken finger and had challenges in the single preparation match against England Lions, returning overall statistics of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

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

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

Expected Selection

Still, an English side featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, leader Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are able to achieve 90 miles per hour - stays the probable result

The first Test starts at 2:20 AM GMT on Friday, with instant commentary, expert analysis and real-time features accessible

Team Selection

Team lineup for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

While a several England Ashes triumphs at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The lineup that won at in England in the famous series of that year featured Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to the host nation in that era had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in those seasons contained Brian Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated Test series in recent years - the English team are aiming to overturn an poor history - they have not won a Test in the host country since 2011

Merely five individuals of the extended squad have played a international Test in the host nation, but Atkinson states that could benefit the English team

"This might be an positive," he mentioned to reporters

"There have been a numerous athletes who have stated they have had challenging periods in this country

"For us, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic group

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

"The entire team views it as a great possibility to create history"

Australian Preparations

The host team's net session on this week was temporarily interrupted by the risk of storms

The home side are likely to give a debut to opener Jack Weatherald, with new pace bowler Doggett also coming in due to fitness concerns to skipper Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood