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The English side has left decisions open for the series opener by naming slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve together with five pace bowlers

The fast bowler is declared fit and seems set to play against Australia in Perth on Friday, with the final decision probably involving the young spinner and fast bowler Carse

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four dedicated bowlers along with all-rounder Stokes - it would arguably be the fastest group of pacemen they have used in an Ashes match in Australia

On Wednesday local groundsman the curator commented to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it looks possible the English will stick to a long-standing plan of an pace-only strategy

But the English team have also spotted a arid quality to the wicket, putting Bashir into contention

Slow Bowling Factors

During the brief existence of Perth Stadium - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australian off-spinner Lyon is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

The team have supported Shoaib, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in spring he achieved the least experienced English bowler to attain 50 wickets in Tests

However he has not played a first-class game following securing the concluding scalp in a exciting triumph over India in the final Test at Lord's in recently

Current Concerns

Bashir has been out with a broken finger and struggled in England's only warm-up match against the Lions, returning overall statistics of two wickets for 151 runs from 24 overs

This presents the possibility of the spinner competing in an Ashes match without being attached to a county

His deal at his county ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Still, an visiting team including Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are able to achieve 90 miles per hour - remains the most likely outcome

The first Test starts at early morning GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights available

Team Selection

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

Although a several England Ashes triumphs at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the equivalent side

The side that won at domestically in the famous series of 2005 Ashes featured Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's triumphant visitors to Australia in that era had Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the England team that succeeded in those seasons featured Brian Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

In this instance - potentially the most exciting Test series in modern times - the visitors are looking to reverse an awful record - they have not won a five-day game in Australia since over a decade ago

Merely five individuals of the extended squad have played a international Test in the host nation, but the bowler comments that could work in England's favour

"This might be an positive," he told the press

"There are a lot of players who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences down under

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, very positive group

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

"Everyone considers it a great possibility to achieve something remarkable"

Opposition News

The Australian net session on recently was temporarily interrupted by the threat of lightning

The home side are likely to give a debut to opener Weatherald, with uncapped seamer Brendan Doggett also being included after fitness concerns to skipper Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood