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England have maintained flexibility for the first Ashes Test by selecting slow bowler Bashir in a twelve-player team alongside five fast bowlers

The fast bowler has been passed fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Western Australia on Friday, with the last selection likely involving spinner Bashir and fast bowler Carse

Pitch Conditions

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers plus multi-skilled player the captain - it would potentially be the quickest collection of seamers they have deployed in an Ashes match in this country

Recently local groundsman McDonald commented to look for "pace and bounce" from the wicket at the venue, and it seems likely England will adhere to a established strategy of an exclusively pace attack

But the tourists have also noted a lack of moisture to the surface, placing the off-spinner into the running

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five prior matches have been staged here - Australian spin bowler Lyon is the top wicket-taker with twenty-nine

The team have favored Shoaib, twenty-two, as their first-choice spinner for more than a year and in spring he was recognized as the most youthful English bowler to attain 50 wickets in Tests

But he has not played a first-class game following taking the final wicket in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in July

Recent Issues

The spinner has been suffering from a broken finger and found it difficult in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, returning match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from twenty-four overs

This creates the scenario of him playing in an Ashes match without being contracted with a county

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

Expected Selection

Still, an England team containing Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are able to achieve high speeds - stays the probable result

The opening match commences at early morning GMT on Friday, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights accessible

Playing Group

Team lineup for series opener: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Although a various England Ashes triumphs at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the equivalent side

The team that won at domestically in the famous series of 2005 contained Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in that era had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the English side that won in 1954-55 contained Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

This time around - among the most highly anticipated Test series in recent memory - the English team are aiming to overturn an awful record - they have not won a Test match in Australia since that year

Just five players of the 16-man squad have participated in a Test match in the host nation, but the bowler states that could work in England's favour

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

"There have been a lot of players who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences in this country

"In our case, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic group

"No bad memories

"It's thrilling

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to create history"

Host Team Situation

The Australian net session on this week was momentarily paused by the possibility of bad weather

The hosts are expected to give a debut to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut fast bowler Brendan Doggett also being included following fitness concerns to captain Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood