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England have left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by selecting spin bowler Bashir in a 12-man squad combined with five seamers

The fast bowler has been passed fit and seems set to play versus the Aussies in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the last selection possibly involving off-spinner Bashir and fast bowler the seamer

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four dedicated bowlers combined with all-rounder the captain - it would potentially be the quickest collection of pacemen they have deployed in an Test against Australia in this country

Earlier this week WA groundsman the curator said to look for "speed and bounce" from the surface at the stadium, and it looks possible the tourists will adhere to a established strategy of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the English team have also spotted a arid quality to the pitch, bringing Bashir into contention

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australian off-spinner Lyon is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

The team have supported Shoaib, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for more than a year and in May he became the least experienced English bowler to achieve 50 wickets in international Tests

But he has not played a first-class game following claiming the last dismissal in a dramatic victory over India in the third Test at the famous ground in July

Current Concerns

He has been recovering from a finger injury and struggled in the sole practice game against the development squad, recording overall statistics of 2-151 from 24 overs

This presents the scenario of him playing in an Ashes Test without being contracted with a domestic team

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

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an English side containing Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching high speeds - stays the expected conclusion

The first Test starts at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and in-play highlights available

England Squad

England squad for series opener: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

Even though a number of England Ashes triumphs at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the identical lineup

The side that triumphed at home in the famous series of that year included Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

The captain's winning English side to Australia in that era had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in that period featured Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - potentially the most exciting Test series in modern times - the visitors are looking to reverse an poor history - they have been unable to secure a Test match in Australia since over a decade ago

Just five players of the extended squad have played a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson states that could work in England's favour

"This could represent an benefit," he mentioned to reporters

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have stated they have had difficult experiences here in Australia

"For us, we are a very relaxed, very positive group

"No negative experiences

"It's thrilling

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

Host Team Situation

The Australian practice session on recently was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

The hosts are expected to hand a first cap to opener Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Doggett also being included after health issues to captain Cummins and teammate Hazlewood