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The tourists have kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by selecting off-spinner the young spinner in a squad of twelve combined with five seamers

Wood has been passed fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth on Friday, with the final decision probably coming down to off-spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four dedicated bowlers plus multi-skilled player the captain - it would possibly be the most rapid assembly of bowlers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in Australia

Recently Western Australia pitch curator the curator stated to look for "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the venue, and it looks possible the tourists will stick to a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

However the visitors have also spotted a dryness to the surface, placing Bashir into consideration

Spin Considerations

In the short history of Perth Stadium - five previous Tests have been hosted here - Australia spin bowler Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

England have backed Bashir, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for since last year and in recent months he achieved the least experienced English bowler to achieve 50 wickets in international Tests

Yet he has not played a first-class game after claiming the final wicket in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the third Test at Lord's in July

Recent Issues

The spinner has been out with a hand problem and found it difficult in the sole practice game against England Lions, returning overall statistics of 2-151 from twenty-four overs

This creates the scenario of Bashir playing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a domestic team

His contract at Somerset concluded at the finish of the English season

Expected Selection

However, an English side including Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, captain Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - stays the most likely outcome

The first Test starts at early morning GMT on Friday, with live text coverage, expert analysis and real-time features accessible

Playing Group

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (skipper), Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

While a various England Ashes triumphs at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

The team that triumphed at home in the celebrated contest of that year included Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's triumphant visitors to the host nation in those years had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the England team that won in those seasons contained Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

In this instance - potentially the most exciting Ashes series in recent memory - the visitors are hoping to change an difficult past - they have not won a five-day game in Australia since over a decade ago

Only five members of the 16-man squad have played a international Test in Australia, but Atkinson says that could help the visitors

"This might be an benefit," he mentioned to the press

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have mentioned they have had challenging periods down under

"For us, we are a quite calm, very positive team

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

"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 risk of storms

The hosts are probably going to provide an opportunity to batsman Weatherald, with new fast bowler Brendan Doggett also joining due to health issues to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Hazlewood