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The tourists have kept their options open for the series opener by selecting off-spinner Bashir in a squad of twelve together with five fast bowlers

Wood is declared fit and seems set to play versus the Aussies in Perth on Friday, with the ultimate choice probably involving spinner Bashir and fast bowler Brydon Carse

Wicket Factors

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four dedicated bowlers combined with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would arguably be the fastest group of pacemen they have used in an Ashes Test in Australia

On Wednesday local groundsman McDonald commented to look for "pace and bounce" from the surface at the stadium, and it appears probable England will stick to a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

However the tourists have also observed a dryness to the wicket, bringing the off-spinner into contention

Slow Bowling Factors

During the brief existence of this venue - five previous Tests have been staged here - Australia spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

The team have favored Shoaib, twenty-two, as their primary spin option for more than a year and in May he achieved the least experienced English bowler to achieve half-century of wickets in Tests

Yet he has been absent from a first-class game since taking the concluding scalp in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in summer

Current Concerns

The spinner has been recovering from a broken finger and struggled in England's only warm-up match against the development squad, returning combined figures of two wickets for 151 runs from 24 overs

This creates the prospect of Bashir participating in an Ashes match without being attached to a county

The agreement at Somerset ended at the end of the home summer

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an English side featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, leader Stokes and Carse - every one of them are likely to hit high speeds - stays the most likely outcome

The initial game starts at early morning GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and live action clips available

England Squad

Team lineup for initial Ashes match: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

While a various successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The side that triumphed at domestically in the famous series of 2005 Ashes contained Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in that era had Bob Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the English side that won in that period featured Brian Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in recent years - the visitors are looking to overturn an awful record - they have failed to win a Test match in the host country since over a decade ago

Just five players of the 16-man squad have played a Test in the host nation, but the bowler 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 here in Australia

"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, extremely confident team

"No bad memories

"It's thrilling

"Everyone considers it a great possibility to create history"

Australian Preparations

The host team's training on Wednesday was temporarily interrupted by the risk of storms

The hosts are likely to hand a first cap to opener Jack Weatherald, with new pace bowler Doggett also joining following fitness concerns to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Hazlewood