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England have left decisions open for the first Ashes Test by naming off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve alongside five seamers

Wood is declared fit and is expected to participate facing the hosts in Western Australia on the weekend, with the ultimate choice possibly between the young spinner and seamer Brydon Carse

Pitch Conditions

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four main pacers plus multi-skilled player the captain - it would potentially be the fastest group of seamers they have deployed in an Ashes match in Australia

On Wednesday WA pitch curator Isaac McDonald said to look for "speed and bounce" from the wicket at Perth Stadium, and it appears probable the English will adhere to a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

But the tourists have also observed a lack of moisture to the pitch, putting Bashir into contention

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five prior matches have been staged here - Australian spin bowler the experienced spinner is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

The English management have favored Shoaib, 22, as their main slow bowler for since last year and in recent months he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Tests

Yet he has been absent from a first-class game following securing the final wicket in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the third Test at Lord's in recently

Recent Issues

Bashir has been out with a broken finger and found it difficult in the single preparation match against the development squad, returning overall statistics of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

This creates the scenario of the spinner playing in an Ashes Test without being attached to a domestic team

His contract at the domestic team concluded at the conclusion of the domestic season

Probable Team

Still, an England team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90mph - stays the most likely outcome

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

England Squad

England squad for series opener: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Even though a several England Ashes triumphs at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have never fielded as numerous fast bowlers in the equivalent side

The lineup that succeeded at in England in the celebrated contest of 2005 featured Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in 1970-71 had Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the England team that succeeded in that period featured Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent years - the visitors are looking to overturn an poor history - they have not won a five-day game in Australia since that year

Only five members of the extended squad have played a Test in the host nation, but the bowler says that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an positive," he told reporters

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

"For us, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic team

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

"Everyone considers it a massive chance to do something special"

Australian Preparations

The host team's training on this week was briefly delayed by the risk of storms

The home side are expected to give a debut to batsman Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Brendan Doggett also coming in after injuries to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood