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England have left decisions open for the first Ashes Test by selecting off-spinner Bashir in a 12-man squad together with five pace bowlers

Wood is declared fit and is expected to participate facing the hosts in Perth on Friday, with the final decision possibly coming down to the young spinner and pace bowler Carse

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers plus multi-skilled player the captain - it would arguably be the quickest collection of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes Test in this country

Recently WA pitch curator McDonald stated to anticipate "speed and bounce" from the wicket at the venue, and it appears probable England will follow a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

However the English team have also noted a arid quality to the wicket, putting the spinner into contention

Slow Bowling Factors

In the short history of this venue - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australia off-spinner the experienced spinner is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

The English management have favored Shoaib, 22 years old, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in spring he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to reach 50 wickets in Tests

However he has missed a competitive game after taking the last dismissal in a thrilling win over India in the third match at the famous ground in July

Current Concerns

He has been recovering from a finger injury and struggled in England's only warm-up match against the Lions, recording match figures of 2 for 151 from his bowling spell

It also raises the prospect of the spinner playing in an Ashes Test without being affiliated with a first-class side

The agreement at the domestic team ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an visiting team featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are able to achieve 90 miles per hour - remains the most likely outcome

The opening match begins at early morning GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and real-time features accessible

Playing Group

Selected players for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (leader), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

Although a several successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the equivalent side

The team that succeeded at domestically in the celebrated contest of 2005 Ashes included Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that succeeded in 1954-55 contained Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in recent memory - the visitors are aiming to change an poor history - they have failed to win a Test in Australia since 2011

Just five players of the sixteen-player group have played a Test in Australia, but the bowler comments that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an advantage," he explained to reporters

"We've seen a many cricketers who have stated they have had difficult experiences down under

"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, highly optimistic group

"No negative experiences

"It's thrilling

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

Host Team Situation

The host team's net session on Wednesday was momentarily paused by the possibility of bad weather

Australia are probably going to provide an opportunity to opener Weatherald, with yet to debut fast bowler Doggett also joining following injuries to captain Pat Cummins and colleague Hazlewood