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England have kept their options open for the series opener by selecting slow bowler Bashir in a squad of twelve together with five fast bowlers

Mark Wood is declared fit and appears likely to feature against Australia in Perth on the weekend, with the last selection probably coming down to off-spinner Bashir and fast bowler Carse

Pitch Conditions

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four dedicated bowlers plus multi-skilled player Ben Stokes - it would possibly be the quickest collection of bowlers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in the host nation

On Wednesday local groundsman the curator commented to look for "pace and bounce" from the surface at the venue, and it looks possible the English will stick to a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

But the English team have also noted a arid quality to the pitch, putting the spinner into contention

Slow Bowling Factors

During the brief existence of the ground - five previous Tests have been staged here - Australian spin bowler Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The English management have backed the young spinner, 22, as their main slow bowler for more than a year and in spring he became the least experienced English bowler to attain fifty wickets in Test matches

However he has missed a official match following taking the final wicket in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the final Test at Lord's in summer

Recent Challenges

Bashir has been out with a finger injury and found it difficult in the sole practice game against England Lions, returning combined figures of 2 for 151 from 24 overs

It also raises the prospect of the spinner playing in an Test against Australia without being contracted with a domestic team

His contract at the domestic team concluded at the end of the home summer

Probable Team

However, an England team containing Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are able to achieve high speeds - remains the probable result

The initial game commences at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and real-time features provided

Playing Group

England squad for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

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

The lineup that triumphed at in England in the memorable competition of that year contained Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's triumphant visitors to Australia in that era had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the English side that triumphed in those seasons contained Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - potentially the most exciting Test series in recent memory - the visitors are aiming to change an awful record - they have not won a Test match in Australia since 2011

Just five players of the sixteen-player group have participated in a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson comments that could help the visitors

"It could be an advantage," he mentioned to media outlets

"There are a lot of players who have said they have had some tough times down under

"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, very positive team

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

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

Australian Preparations

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

The home side are expected to hand a first cap to batsman Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Doggett also coming in due to fitness concerns to skipper Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood