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

Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the final decision probably between spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four specialists along with multi-skilled player the captain - it would potentially be the fastest group of bowlers they have fielded in an Ashes Test in Australia

Recently WA groundsman the curator commented to look for "fast and bouncy conditions" from the surface at the venue, and it appears probable the tourists will adhere to a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

But the English team have also noted a dryness to the pitch, putting Bashir into contention

Spin Considerations

During the brief existence of this venue - five previous Tests have been staged here - Australia spin bowler Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

The team have favored Shoaib, 22, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in recent months he became the least experienced English bowler to reach 50 wickets in international Tests

But he has not played a official match after taking the last dismissal in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third Test at Lord's in July

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been suffering from a hand problem and found it difficult in the single preparation match against the development squad, returning match figures of 2-151 from 24 overs

This creates the possibility of Bashir participating in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a county

The agreement at the domestic team concluded at the finish of the English season

Likely Lineup

Still, an English side featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - remains the most likely outcome

The initial game begins at 2:20 AM GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, Test Match Special commentary and real-time features provided

Team Selection

Team lineup for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Past Experience

While a various English Ashes victories at in England and overseas have been built on pace, they have not previously selected as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

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

Illingworth's triumphant visitors to Australia in that era had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the English side that succeeded in that period included Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Present Circumstances

In this instance - potentially the most exciting England-Australia contests in recent years - the English team are hoping to overturn an poor history - they have been unable to secure a five-day game in Australia since 2011

Just five players of the 16-man squad have played a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson comments that could benefit the English team

"This might be an benefit," he explained to reporters

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have said they have had some tough times down under

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

"No bad memories

"It's thrilling

"The entire team views it as a great possibility to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

The host team's practice session on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

Australia are likely to give a debut to batsman Weatherald, with uncapped fast bowler Brendan Doggett also joining after injuries to skipper Cummins and colleague Hazlewood