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The English side has maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by including off-spinner Bashir in a squad of twelve together with five seamers

Mark Wood is declared fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth Stadium on Friday, with the last selection likely between spinner Bashir and fast bowler Carse

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists combined with multi-skilled player Ben Stokes - it would possibly be the quickest collection of seamers they have used in an Test against Australia in Australia

On Wednesday local wicket preparer the curator commented to look for "fast and bouncy conditions" from the surface at Perth Stadium, and it seems likely England will follow a established strategy of an exclusively pace attack

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

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five prior matches have been staged here - Australian off-spinner Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29

The English management have supported Shoaib, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for since last year and in recent months he became the most youthful English bowler to reach half-century of wickets in international Tests

But he has not played a competitive game following securing the last dismissal in a dramatic victory over India in the final Test at the famous ground in July

Recent Challenges

He has been suffering from a hand problem and struggled in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, returning combined figures of 2-151 from his bowling spell

It also raises the possibility of Bashir competing in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a county

His contract at his county ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Probable Team

However, an English side containing Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, leader Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are able to achieve high speeds - continues to be the expected conclusion

The first Test starts at early morning GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and live action clips provided

Team Selection

Selected players for series opener: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

While a number of successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The team that triumphed at in England in the celebrated contest of 2005 Ashes featured Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

The captain's successful touring team to the host nation in that era had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the English side that won in those seasons included Brian Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in modern times - the English team are looking to reverse an difficult past - they have been unable to secure a five-day game in the host country since over a decade ago

Only five members of the sixteen-player group have participated in a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson states that could work in England's favour

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

"There are a lot of players who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences here in Australia

"In our case, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic team

"No scarring

"It's very exciting

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to create history"

Host Team Situation

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

The home side are expected to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with new seamer Doggett also being included due to injuries to skipper Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood