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England have left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by including spin bowler the young spinner in a squad of twelve together with five pace bowlers

Wood is declared fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth on the weekend, with the last selection possibly coming down to spinner Bashir and pace bowler the seamer

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an fast bowling unit - four main pacers along with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would potentially be the fastest group of seamers they have fielded in an Ashes Test in Australia

Earlier this week Western Australia pitch curator Isaac McDonald commented to expect "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it looks possible the English will adhere to a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

However the tourists have also observed a dryness to the pitch, putting Bashir into the running

Spinning Options

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

The team have supported Shoaib, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for since last year and in spring he was recognized as the most youthful English bowler to reach 50 wickets in Tests

Yet he has not played a first-class game after securing the concluding scalp in a dramatic victory over India in the third Test at the famous ground in summer

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been recovering from a broken finger and had challenges in the single preparation match against the development squad, recording overall statistics of 2-151 from 24 overs

This creates the prospect of the spinner competing in an Ashes match without being contracted with a first-class side

His contract at his county concluded at the end of the home summer

Likely Lineup

However, an visiting team featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, captain Stokes and Carse - every one of them are likely to hit high speeds - continues to be the expected conclusion

The initial game begins at early morning GMT on Friday, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights accessible

Team Selection

England squad for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Archer, Bashir

Team Background

While a various successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

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

Illingworth's successful touring team to the host nation in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in 1954-55 featured Brian Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in recent memory - England are aiming to reverse an awful record - they have been unable to secure a five-day game in Australia since 2011

Merely five individuals of the sixteen-player group have experienced a Test in Australia, but the bowler says that could benefit the English team

"This might be an positive," he told media outlets

"There are a lot of players who have mentioned they have had challenging periods down under

"For us, we are a extremely composed, very positive team

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"The entire team views it as a huge opportunity to create history"

Opposition News

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

The home side are expected to provide an opportunity to batsman Weatherald, with uncapped pace bowler Brendan Doggett also coming in after fitness concerns to skipper Cummins and teammate Hazlewood