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

Wood has recovered and is expected to participate versus the Aussies in Perth on Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly coming down to off-spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers combined with multi-skilled player the captain - it would possibly be the quickest collection of seamers they have used in an Ashes match in this country

Earlier this week local pitch curator the curator stated to expect "speed and bounce" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will adhere to a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

Yet the tourists have also observed a lack of moisture to the wicket, bringing the spinner into the running

Slow Bowling Factors

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five earlier Tests have been staged here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29

The English management have favored the young spinner, 22, as their first-choice spinner for over twelve months and in May he was recognized as the youngest England bowler to achieve 50 wickets in international Tests

However he has not played a competitive game following taking the final wicket in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the third Test at the famous ground in recently

Current Concerns

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

This presents the prospect of Bashir playing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a county

The agreement at Somerset expired at the end of the home summer

Likely Lineup

Still, an visiting team including Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the probable result

The opening match begins at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and live action clips provided

Playing Group

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (gloveman), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a number of successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been founded on quick bowling, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The team that won at home in the celebrated contest of that year featured Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's triumphant visitors to Australia in those years had Willis, Lever and Snow, and the English side that triumphed in that period featured Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in recent memory - England are hoping to overturn an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test in the host country since over a decade ago

Merely five individuals of the 16-man squad have played a Test match in Australia, but the bowler comments that could work in England's favour

"It could be an advantage," he told reporters

"We've seen a many cricketers who have stated they have had some tough times down under

"In our case, we are a extremely composed, highly optimistic team

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to do something special"

Host Team Situation

Australia's training on recently was temporarily interrupted by the possibility of bad weather

The hosts are expected to provide an opportunity to batsman Jack Weatherald, with new pace bowler Doggett also joining after fitness concerns to captain Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood