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The tourists have maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by naming slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad alongside five seamers

Wood has recovered and seems set to play versus the Aussies in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the final decision likely involving the young spinner and pace bowler Carse

Ground Situation

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers plus all-rounder Ben Stokes - it would potentially be the quickest collection of bowlers they have fielded in an Ashes match in this country

On Wednesday Western Australia wicket preparer the curator stated to look for "speed and bounce" from the surface at the stadium, and it seems likely England will stick to a long-standing plan of an pace-only strategy

However the English team have also observed a arid quality to the surface, putting the spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29

The team have backed Bashir, 22, as their primary spin option for since last year and in May he achieved the youngest England bowler to achieve half-century of wickets in Tests

However he has been absent from a first-class game following claiming the final wicket in a exciting triumph over India in the third match at the famous ground in July

Recent Challenges

Bashir has been out with a hand problem and had challenges in the sole practice game against the Lions, returning overall statistics of 2-151 from his bowling spell

This presents the possibility of Bashir participating in an Test against Australia without being attached to a domestic team

His contract at the domestic team ended at the end of the home summer

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an English side containing Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, leader Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching 90mph - stays the probable result

The opening match begins at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and live action clips accessible

Team Selection

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

Past Experience

Although a number of English Ashes victories at in England and overseas have been built on pace, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the same team

The side that won at home in the celebrated contest of 2005 Ashes contained Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

The captain's successful touring team to the host nation in those years had Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the England team that triumphed in 1954-55 contained Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in modern times - the visitors are looking to change an difficult past - they have not won a five-day game in Australia since that year

Just five players of the 16-man squad have experienced a Test match in Australia, but the bowler states that could benefit the English team

"This might be an positive," he explained to the press

"We've seen a lot of players who have mentioned they have had challenging periods here in Australia

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

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"Everyone considers it a great possibility to create history"

Host Team Situation

The Australian training on recently was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

The hosts are likely to give a debut to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Doggett also being included after injuries to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood