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England have maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by including off-spinner Bashir in a 12-man squad combined with five fast bowlers

Mark Wood has recovered and seems set to play against Australia in Perth Stadium on Friday, with the final decision possibly coming down to the young spinner and seamer the seamer

Ground Situation

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four dedicated bowlers plus all-rounder Stokes - it would possibly be the fastest group of pacemen they have used in an Ashes match in this country

Earlier this week local pitch curator Isaac McDonald stated to expect "fast and bouncy conditions" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it looks possible the English will stick to a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

But the tourists have also noted a dryness to the surface, bringing the spinner into the running

Spinning Options

In the short history of this venue - five previous Tests have been staged here - Australian spin bowler Lyon is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

The English management have backed Shoaib, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in spring he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to achieve fifty wickets in international Tests

But he has been absent from a competitive game since securing the last dismissal in a thrilling win over India in the third Test at the famous ground in July

Current Concerns

He has been recovering from a finger injury and found it difficult in the single preparation match against England Lions, returning match figures of 2-151 from 24 overs

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

The agreement at Somerset ended at the end of the home summer

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an English side featuring Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - continues to be the expected conclusion

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

Team Selection

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Even though a several English Ashes victories at domestically and internationally have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The side that succeeded at home in the famous series of that year included Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's successful touring team to the host nation in that era had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the England team that succeeded in that period contained Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - one of the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in recent years - England are aiming to reverse an poor history - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since that year

Merely five individuals of the extended squad have played a Test match in Australia, but the bowler says that could help the visitors

"This might be an positive," he explained to media outlets

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

"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, extremely confident team

"No bad memories

"It's thrilling

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

Opposition News

Australia's net session on recently was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

The home side are expected to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with uncapped fast bowler Brendan Doggett also joining following injuries to skipper Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood