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

The fast bowler has been passed fit and is expected to participate facing the hosts in Perth Stadium on Friday, with the final decision possibly coming down to off-spinner Bashir and fast bowler Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers along with all-rounder the captain - it would potentially be the fastest group of pacemen they have used in an Test against Australia in this country

On Wednesday WA wicket preparer McDonald commented to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the wicket at Perth Stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will follow a long-standing plan of an pace-only strategy

Yet the visitors have also spotted a dryness to the wicket, placing the off-spinner into the running

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of Perth Stadium - five prior matches have been played here - Australia spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with twenty-nine

The English management have supported Bashir, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in May he became the most youthful English bowler to reach fifty wickets in Tests

But he has been absent from a first-class game following claiming the final wicket in a thrilling win over India in the third match at Lord's in recently

Recent Challenges

Bashir has been out with a broken finger and found it difficult in England's only warm-up match against the development squad, posting overall statistics of 2-151 from his bowling spell

It also raises the prospect of the spinner competing in an Ashes Test without being contracted with a county

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

Expected Selection

However, an visiting team including Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - each of whom are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - remains the probable result

The first Test starts at early morning GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, Test Match Special commentary and live action clips provided

England Squad

England squad for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Smith (wk), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Past Experience

While a number of successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The team that succeeded at in England in the memorable competition of 2005 Ashes included Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to Australia in those years had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that won in those seasons included Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in modern times - the visitors are hoping to reverse an difficult past - they have not won a Test in Australia since 2011

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

"It could be an benefit," he mentioned to the press

"There are a many cricketers who have said they have had challenging periods here in Australia

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, very positive squad

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

"We all see it as a great possibility to do something special"

Host Team Situation

The host team's training on this week was momentarily paused by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are expected to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with new pace bowler Doggett also joining following injuries to captain Cummins and teammate Hazlewood