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England have maintained flexibility for the series opener by selecting slow bowler Bashir in a squad of twelve alongside five pace bowlers

Mark Wood has been passed fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Western Australia on Friday, with the last selection probably coming down to spinner Bashir and fast bowler Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four dedicated bowlers combined with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would potentially be the fastest group of bowlers they have used in an Ashes Test in the host nation

Earlier this week Western Australia pitch curator Isaac McDonald commented to expect "speed and bounce" from the surface at Perth Stadium, and it appears probable the English will stick to a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

Yet the tourists have also noted a dryness to the surface, bringing the spinner into contention

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australia spin bowler the experienced spinner is the most successful bowler with 29

The English management have backed the young spinner, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for since last year and in spring he became the most youthful English bowler to achieve half-century of wickets in Tests

Yet he has missed a official match following taking the concluding scalp in a exciting triumph over India in the final Test at Lord's in recently

Current Concerns

The spinner has been out with a finger injury and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, returning match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

It also raises the prospect of Bashir competing in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a first-class side

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

Probable Team

However, an English side containing Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching high speeds - remains the expected conclusion

The first Test begins at early morning GMT on Friday, with instant commentary, expert analysis and in-play highlights available

England Squad

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

Historical Context

While a number of England Ashes triumphs at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the equivalent side

The side that won at in England in the memorable competition of 2005 Ashes included Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in 1954-55 featured Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in modern times - England are hoping to reverse an difficult past - they have not won a Test match in the host country since that year

Just five players of the extended squad have participated in a Test match in the host nation, but Atkinson comments that could help the visitors

"This could represent an positive," he told the press

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have stated they have had some tough times in this country

"Regarding our team, we are a quite calm, very positive team

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

"Everyone considers it a huge opportunity to create history"

Host Team Situation

Australia's practice session on Wednesday was momentarily paused by the risk of storms

The hosts are expected to provide an opportunity to batsman Weatherald, with new seamer Doggett also joining following fitness concerns to skipper Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood