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The English side has maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by including off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve alongside five pace bowlers

Mark Wood is declared fit and is expected to participate against Australia in Perth Stadium on Friday, with the final decision possibly coming down to off-spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four main pacers combined with all-rounder the captain - it would arguably be the fastest group of bowlers they have fielded in an Ashes match in Australia

Earlier this week local wicket preparer McDonald said to expect "speed and bounce" from the pitch at the venue, and it appears probable the tourists will adhere to a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

However the tourists have also observed a arid quality to the surface, placing the spinner into contention

Spinning Options

During the brief existence of the ground - five earlier Tests have been staged here - Australia spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the top wicket-taker with twenty-nine

The team have favored Bashir, 22, as their first-choice spinner for over twelve months and in recent months he achieved the most youthful English bowler to reach 50 wickets in Test matches

But he has been absent from a first-class game since taking the final wicket in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in recently

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been suffering from a hand problem and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against the development squad, posting match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from twenty-four overs

This creates the scenario of the spinner participating in an Ashes match without being attached to a county

His deal at his county expired at the finish of the English season

Likely Lineup

However, an England team including Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the expected conclusion

The first Test commences at 2:20 AM GMT on Friday, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and live action clips available

England Squad

England squad for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (captain), Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

While a number of English Ashes victories at in England and overseas have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously selected as numerous fast bowlers in the identical lineup

The side that triumphed at domestically in the famous series of that year featured Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

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

Modern Context

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in recent years - England are looking to change an awful record - they have not won a Test in Australia since 2011

Only five members of the 16-man squad have experienced a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could work in England's favour

"It could be an advantage," he explained to the press

"There have been a lot of players who have said they have had some tough times here in Australia

"In our case, we are a extremely composed, extremely confident squad

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

"Everyone considers it a massive chance to do something special"

Host Team Situation

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

The hosts are likely to hand a first cap to batsman Jack Weatherald, with new seamer Brendan Doggett also being included due to injuries to skipper Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood