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England have maintained flexibility for the series opener by including slow bowler the young spinner in a 12-man squad combined with five pace bowlers

Wood has been passed fit and appears likely to feature versus the Aussies in Western Australia on the weekend, with the last selection possibly involving spinner Bashir and fast bowler Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four specialists along with all-rounder the captain - it would arguably be the most rapid assembly of bowlers they have fielded in an Test against Australia in the host nation

Earlier this week WA wicket preparer Isaac McDonald commented to look for "fast and bouncy conditions" from the pitch at the venue, and it seems likely the English will adhere to a established strategy of an fast bowling focus

Yet the visitors have also observed a lack of moisture to the pitch, bringing Bashir into consideration

Spin Considerations

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

The English management have backed Shoaib, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in May he was recognized as the most youthful English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in international Tests

But he has missed a official match after claiming the last dismissal in a thrilling win over India in the third Test at the famous ground in recently

Current Concerns

He has been suffering from a hand problem and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, recording combined figures of 2-151 from 24 overs

This creates the possibility of Bashir competing in an Test against Australia without being attached to a first-class side

The agreement at his county expired at the end of the home summer

Expected Selection

Still, an English side including Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching high speeds - continues to be the expected conclusion

The first Test commences at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and live action clips provided

Playing Group

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

Team Background

Although a several successful Ashes campaigns at home and abroad have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as numerous fast bowlers in the equivalent side

The lineup that succeeded at home in the famous series of 2005 Ashes included Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's winning English side to the host nation in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that succeeded in those seasons featured Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - potentially the most exciting Ashes series in recent memory - the visitors are hoping to overturn an difficult past - they have not won a five-day game in Australia since 2011

Just five players of the 16-man squad have played a Test in Australia, but the bowler says that could work in England's favour

"It could be an advantage," he told reporters

"There have been a numerous athletes who have said they have had challenging periods down under

"For us, we are a extremely composed, very positive squad

"No bad memories

"It's very exciting

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to create history"

Australian Preparations

The host team's practice session on recently was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

Australia are probably going to hand a first cap to opener Weatherald, with new pace bowler Brendan Doggett also being included after injuries to skipper Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood