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England have kept their options open for the first Ashes Test by selecting spin bowler Shoaib Bashir in a twelve-player team combined with five pace bowlers

Mark Wood has been passed fit and seems set to play facing the hosts in Western Australia on the weekend, with the final decision probably coming down to the young spinner and fast bowler the seamer

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an all-pace attack - four specialists combined with all-rounder Stokes - it would potentially be the fastest group of bowlers they have deployed in an Test against Australia in the host nation

Recently WA groundsman Isaac McDonald said to anticipate "fast and bouncy conditions" from the wicket at Perth Stadium, and it looks possible the English will follow a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

Yet the visitors have also noted a dryness to the pitch, bringing Bashir into the running

Spinning Options

In the short history of this venue - five prior matches have been played here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

England have supported Shoaib, 22, as their primary spin option for since last year and in spring he achieved the least experienced English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Tests

But he has been absent from a first-class game since claiming the last dismissal in a exciting triumph over India in the final Test at Lord's in recently

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been out with a broken finger and found it difficult in the single preparation match against the Lions, returning match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from 24 overs

This creates the prospect of Bashir participating in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a county

The agreement at Somerset ended at the finish of the English season

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an England team featuring Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - each of whom are able to achieve 90mph - stays the most likely outcome

The first Test commences at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and real-time features provided

Playing Group

Team lineup for series opener: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Team Background

While a several successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have not previously selected as numerous fast bowlers in the same team

The team that triumphed at in England in the famous series of that year included Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's triumphant visitors to Australia in that era had Willis, Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in that period featured Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated England-Australia contests in modern times - the visitors are aiming to change an poor history - they have failed to win a Test in Australia since over a decade ago

Only five members of the extended squad have played a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson states that could help the visitors

"This might be an positive," he mentioned to the press

"There are a many cricketers who have mentioned they have had challenging periods down under

"Regarding our team, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic squad

"No negative experiences

"It's thrilling

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

The host team's training on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are likely to give a debut to opener Weatherald, with uncapped pace bowler Doggett also being included after injuries to skipper Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood