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England have left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by naming slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve alongside five fast bowlers

The fast bowler has recovered and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice probably between the young spinner and seamer Carse

Ground Situation

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists along with all-rounder Stokes - it would arguably be the quickest collection of seamers they have used in an Test against Australia in the host nation

On Wednesday Western Australia pitch curator Isaac McDonald said to expect "pace and bounce" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it seems likely England will stick to a traditional approach of an exclusively pace attack

However the visitors have also spotted a arid quality to the surface, placing the spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five prior matches have been staged here - Australian off-spinner the experienced spinner is the leading wicket-taker with 29

The English management have backed the young spinner, twenty-two, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in May he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to achieve half-century of wickets in Test matches

However he has missed a competitive game following claiming the last dismissal in a exciting triumph over India in the final Test at Lord's in summer

Recent Issues

The spinner has been recovering from a broken finger and found it difficult in the single preparation match against the development squad, recording overall statistics of 2-151 from his bowling spell

This creates the prospect of Bashir participating in an Ashes Test without being affiliated with a domestic team

His deal at his county ended at the end of the home summer

Expected Selection

Still, an visiting team containing Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching high speeds - continues to be the expected conclusion

The first Test begins at 2:20 AM GMT on Friday, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights available

Team Selection

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (captain), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Although a various successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the same team

The side that triumphed at home in the famous series of 2005 Ashes included Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in that era had Bob Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the England team that succeeded in that period contained Brian Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in modern times - the English team are aiming to change an difficult past - they have not won a five-day game in the host country since 2011

Only five members of the extended squad have participated in a Test in the host nation, but the bowler states that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an benefit," he told media outlets

"We've seen a lot of players who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences here in Australia

"In our case, we are a extremely composed, very positive group

"No scarring

"It's exhilarating

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to do something special"

Opposition News

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

Australia are probably going to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with uncapped pace bowler Brendan Doggett also joining after health issues to captain Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood