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England have maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by including spin bowler the young spinner in a squad of twelve alongside five seamers

Wood has recovered and is expected to participate versus the Aussies in Perth Stadium on the weekend, with the last selection probably coming down to the young spinner and fast bowler Brydon Carse

Wicket Factors

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four dedicated bowlers plus all-rounder the captain - it would arguably be the fastest group of seamers they have used in an Ashes Test in this country

Recently WA groundsman McDonald stated to expect "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it looks possible the English will follow a established strategy of an exclusively pace attack

But the tourists have also noted a lack of moisture to the surface, putting the spinner into the running

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australian spin bowler the experienced spinner is the most successful bowler with 29

The English management have supported the young spinner, 22, as their first-choice spinner for more than a year and in recent months he became the youngest England bowler to reach fifty wickets in Tests

Yet he has been absent from a official match since claiming the final wicket in a thrilling win over India in the final Test at the famous ground in summer

Recent Challenges

Bashir has been suffering from a broken finger and had challenges in the sole practice game against the development squad, posting overall statistics of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

This creates the scenario of him competing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a first-class side

His deal at the domestic team expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an English side including Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - each of whom are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the expected conclusion

The opening match starts at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and in-play highlights accessible

Team Selection

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

While a number of English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously selected as many express pace bowlers in the same team

The side that triumphed at in England in the celebrated contest of that year included Steve Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's successful touring team to the host nation in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that succeeded in those seasons featured Brian Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

This time around - potentially the most exciting Ashes series in modern times - England are aiming to overturn an poor history - they have not won a Test match in Australia since that year

Only five members of the 16-man squad have experienced a international Test in the host nation, but the bowler comments that could work in England's favour

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

"There are a many cricketers who have mentioned they have had some tough times in this country

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

"No negative experiences

"It's thrilling

"We all see it as a massive chance to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

The Australian net session on recently was momentarily paused by the risk of storms

Australia are probably going to hand a first cap to batsman Jack Weatherald, with new pace bowler Doggett also joining due to injuries to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood