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England have left decisions open for the series opener by naming spin bowler the young spinner in a 12-man squad alongside five pace bowlers

The fast bowler has been passed fit and is expected to participate against Australia in Perth on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice likely involving spinner Bashir and fast bowler the seamer

Pitch Conditions

If the visitors select an fast bowling unit - four main pacers along with all-rounder the captain - it would possibly be the fastest group of seamers they have deployed in an Ashes match in the host nation

On Wednesday WA pitch curator McDonald said to look for "pace and bounce" from the wicket at Perth Stadium, and it looks possible the tourists will adhere to a long-standing plan of an pace-only strategy

But the tourists have also spotted a arid quality to the wicket, bringing the off-spinner into consideration

Slow Bowling Factors

During the brief existence of the ground - five earlier Tests have been staged here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The team have backed Shoaib, 22, as their main slow bowler for since last year and in May he was recognized as the youngest England bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

But he has missed a official match since claiming the last dismissal in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third Test at the famous ground in July

Recent Challenges

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

It also raises the scenario of the spinner competing in an Ashes Test without being affiliated with a domestic team

The agreement at the domestic team expired at the end of the home summer

Likely Lineup

Still, an English side featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Stokes and Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90mph - stays the expected conclusion

The opening match begins at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, expert analysis and in-play highlights accessible

England Squad

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (skipper), Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

Even though a number of successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been built on pace, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The side that won at domestically in the memorable competition of 2005 included Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's successful touring team to the host nation in that era had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the England team that won in those seasons featured Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Present Circumstances

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in recent years - the English team are looking to change an awful record - they have failed to win a five-day game in Australia since 2011

Just five players of the extended squad have participated in a international Test in the host nation, but Atkinson states that could help the visitors

"It could be an advantage," he mentioned to media outlets

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have said they have had difficult experiences down under

"Regarding our team, we are a very relaxed, highly optimistic group

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

"We all see it as a great possibility to create history"

Australian Preparations

The host team's training on this week was momentarily paused by the risk of storms

The hosts are likely to hand a first cap to opener Weatherald, with new seamer Brendan Doggett also coming in after fitness concerns to skipper Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood