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England have left decisions open for the series opener by naming slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a twelve-player team alongside five fast bowlers

Wood is declared fit and seems set to play against Australia in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the final decision possibly between the young spinner and seamer Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists plus multi-skilled player Stokes - it would potentially be the quickest collection of pacemen they have fielded in an Ashes Test in this country

Earlier this week Western Australia groundsman the curator said to anticipate "fast and bouncy conditions" from the wicket at the venue, and it appears probable the tourists will adhere to a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

Yet the English team have also noted a lack of moisture to the surface, placing the spinner into the running

Spin Considerations

During the brief existence of Perth Stadium - five prior matches have been staged here - Australia spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with twenty-nine

England have backed Bashir, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for more than a year and in spring he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to attain fifty wickets in Tests

However he has not played a first-class game since claiming the last dismissal in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in summer

Recent Issues

He has been out with a broken finger and struggled in the sole practice game against England Lions, posting combined figures of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

This presents the prospect of Bashir competing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a domestic team

His contract at Somerset ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Still, an English side containing Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching high speeds - remains the probable result

The first Test begins at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, Test Match Special commentary and real-time features accessible

Playing Group

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

Even though a number of English Ashes victories at in England and overseas have been built on pace, they have not previously selected as numerous fast bowlers in the same team

The lineup that triumphed at domestically in the famous series of that year featured Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the English side that triumphed in that period contained Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent years - England are aiming to change an difficult past - they have not won a Test match in the host country since over a decade ago

Only five members of the sixteen-player group have played a international Test in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could help the visitors

"This could represent an benefit," he explained to the press

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences in this country

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

"No negative experiences

"It's thrilling

"We all see it as a great possibility to achieve something remarkable"

Opposition News

The host team's practice session on this week was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

Australia are probably going to provide an opportunity to opener Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Doggett also coming in after fitness concerns to captain Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood