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The English side has maintained flexibility for the first Ashes Test by naming slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad together with five fast bowlers

Mark Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature against Australia in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the final decision likely involving spinner Bashir and pace bowler Carse

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an all-pace attack - four main pacers along with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would possibly be the fastest group of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes match in Australia

Earlier this week WA wicket preparer McDonald stated to look for "fast and bouncy conditions" from the wicket at the stadium, and it seems likely England will adhere to a long-standing plan of an pace-only strategy

Yet the English team have also spotted a dryness to the pitch, bringing the spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

In the short history of Perth Stadium - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

England have favored Bashir, 22, as their primary spin option for more than a year and in recent months he achieved the most youthful English bowler to reach half-century of wickets in international Tests

But he has missed a first-class game after claiming the final wicket in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the final Test at Lord's in recently

Recent Issues

He has been recovering from a broken finger and struggled in the sole practice game against the development squad, returning overall statistics of 2 for 151 from 24 overs

This presents the prospect of him participating in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a first-class side

The agreement at Somerset expired at the finish of the English season

Probable Team

However, an England team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - stays the most likely outcome

The initial game begins at early morning GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, expert analysis and live action clips accessible

England Squad

England squad for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (wk), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a several successful Ashes campaigns at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the same team

The side that triumphed at home in the famous series of 2005 Ashes contained Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's triumphant visitors to the host nation in that era had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the England team that succeeded in those seasons included Brian Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in modern times - the English team are aiming to overturn an difficult past - they have failed to win a five-day game in the host country since that year

Merely five individuals of the 16-man squad have played a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson says that could help the visitors

"This might be an benefit," he told reporters

"We've seen a lot of players who have stated they have had difficult experiences in this country

"Regarding our team, we are a quite calm, very positive squad

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to do something special"

Host Team Situation

The Australian net session on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

Australia are expected to hand a first cap to opener Jack Weatherald, with new seamer Brendan Doggett also joining following health issues to skipper Pat Cummins and colleague Hazlewood