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England have kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by selecting slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve combined with five seamers

Mark Wood is declared fit and is expected to participate versus the Aussies in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the last selection probably between the young spinner and seamer the seamer

Ground Situation

If England opt for an pace-only bowling lineup - four dedicated bowlers along with all-rounder Ben Stokes - it would potentially be the fastest group of pacemen they have used in an Ashes Test in Australia

Recently WA wicket preparer the curator commented to anticipate "speed and bounce" from the surface at the venue, and it looks possible the English will stick to a traditional approach of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the tourists have also noted a lack of moisture to the wicket, bringing Bashir into the running

Spin Considerations

In the short history of Perth Stadium - five prior matches have been hosted here - Australian spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

England have favored Bashir, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in May he achieved the youngest England bowler to achieve 50 wickets in Tests

But he has not played a first-class game following securing the last dismissal in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in recently

Current Concerns

Bashir has been suffering from a broken finger and struggled in the single preparation match against England Lions, recording combined figures of 2-151 from his bowling spell

It also raises the scenario of the spinner playing in an Test against Australia without being attached to a first-class side

His deal at his county expired at the end of the home summer

Expected Selection

Still, an England team featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Stokes and Carse - all of whom are able to achieve high speeds - remains the most likely outcome

The initial game begins at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, expert analysis and real-time features provided

Team Selection

Team lineup for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (captain), Smith (wk), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Although a number of England Ashes triumphs at in England and overseas have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the equivalent side

The side that succeeded at in England in the celebrated contest of that year included Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to Australia in that era had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the English side that succeeded in those seasons featured Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - among the most highly anticipated Test series in recent years - England are looking to change an difficult past - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since over a decade ago

Just five players of the 16-man squad have experienced a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could work in England's favour

"This could represent an advantage," he explained to reporters

"We've seen a lot of players who have stated they have had some tough times here in Australia

"For us, we are a extremely composed, extremely confident group

"No scarring

"It's exhilarating

"We all see it as a massive chance to do something special"

Opposition News

The Australian net session on this week was temporarily interrupted by the threat of lightning

The hosts are expected to give a debut to opener Jack Weatherald, with uncapped seamer Brendan Doggett also being included following health issues to captain Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood