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The tourists have maintained flexibility for the first Ashes Test by including slow bowler Bashir in a twelve-player team alongside five fast bowlers

Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature versus the Aussies in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the final decision probably involving the young spinner and fast bowler the seamer

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers along with multi-skilled player Ben Stokes - it would potentially be the quickest collection of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes match in the host nation

On Wednesday WA wicket preparer the curator said to look for "fast and bouncy conditions" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it looks possible the tourists will follow a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

Yet the tourists have also observed a lack of moisture to the pitch, placing Bashir into the running

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of Perth Stadium - five previous Tests have been hosted here - Australian spin bowler Lyon is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

England have supported the young spinner, 22, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in recent months he became the youngest England bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

However he has missed a official match after securing the concluding scalp in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in summer

Recent Challenges

He has been suffering from a broken finger and had challenges in the single preparation match against the development squad, recording match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

This presents the prospect of the spinner playing in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a domestic team

His contract at his county ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Expected Selection

Nevertheless, an English side including Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, leader Ben Stokes and Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90mph - stays the probable result

The initial game commences at 02:20 GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, expert analysis and live action clips accessible

Team Selection

Team lineup for series opener: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a several England Ashes triumphs at in England and overseas have been founded on quick bowling, they have never fielded as numerous fast bowlers in the identical lineup

The lineup that succeeded at domestically in the celebrated contest of that year included Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that won in 1954-55 contained Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in recent years - the visitors are hoping to change an awful record - they have not won a Test match in the host country since over a decade ago

Merely five individuals of the extended squad have experienced a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson comments that could work in England's favour

"It could be an positive," he mentioned to the press

"There are a lot of players who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences down under

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, extremely confident team

"No bad memories

"It's very exciting

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

Host Team Situation

The host team's training on Wednesday was temporarily interrupted by the possibility of bad weather

Australia are probably going to hand a first cap to opener Jack Weatherald, with new seamer Doggett also joining following fitness concerns to captain Cummins and teammate Hazlewood