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The English side has kept their options open for the series opener by naming slow bowler the young spinner in a 12-man squad combined with five seamers

Mark Wood is declared fit and is expected to participate versus the Aussies in Western Australia on Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly between spinner Bashir and pace bowler Carse

Ground Situation

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four main pacers combined with multi-skilled player the captain - it would arguably be the fastest group of bowlers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in the host nation

Recently Western Australia pitch curator McDonald commented to expect "speed and bounce" from the surface at the stadium, and it appears probable England will follow a established strategy of an exclusively pace attack

But the tourists have also noted a lack of moisture to the wicket, placing the off-spinner into contention

Spin Considerations

During the brief existence of this venue - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The team have supported Shoaib, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for more than a year and in May he was recognized as the youngest England bowler to reach half-century of wickets in international Tests

But he has been absent from a official match after claiming the final wicket in a thrilling win over India in the third match at Lord's in July

Recent Challenges

Bashir has been out with a finger injury and struggled in the sole practice game against the Lions, recording match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from twenty-four overs

This creates the prospect of him playing in an Test against Australia without being contracted with a domestic team

The agreement at his county expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

However, an England team containing Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - stays the probable result

The opening match commences at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, Test Match Special commentary and live action clips available

England Squad

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (skipper), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Although a several England Ashes triumphs at in England and overseas have been built on pace, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the identical lineup

The lineup that succeeded at home in the celebrated contest of 2005 included Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's winning English side to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the English side that succeeded in those seasons contained Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent memory - England are hoping to reverse an poor history - they have failed to win a Test in Australia since that year

Just five players of the 16-man squad have participated in a Test match in the host nation, but Atkinson comments that could help the visitors

"This might be an benefit," he mentioned to reporters

"We've seen a lot of players who have mentioned they have had some tough times in this country

"For us, we are a quite calm, extremely confident team

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

"We all see it as a great possibility to create history"

Opposition News

Australia's net session on this week was temporarily interrupted by the risk of storms

The hosts are expected to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with new fast bowler Doggett also joining due to injuries to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood