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England have left decisions open for the first Ashes Test by including off-spinner the young spinner in a twelve-player team alongside five seamers

Wood has been passed fit and seems set to play facing the hosts in Perth on Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly involving spinner Bashir and seamer Carse

Pitch Conditions

If England opt for an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers along with all-rounder Ben Stokes - it would arguably be the most rapid assembly of pacemen they have deployed in an Test against Australia in the host nation

Earlier this week Western Australia pitch curator the curator stated to expect "speed and bounce" from the wicket at the stadium, and it seems likely the English will stick to a established strategy of an fast bowling focus

Yet the tourists have also noted a dryness to the wicket, bringing the off-spinner into consideration

Spinning Options

In the short history of this venue - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australian off-spinner the experienced spinner is the most successful bowler with 29

The team have backed Shoaib, twenty-two, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in recent months he achieved the youngest England bowler to achieve fifty wickets in Tests

But he has not played a official match following securing the final wicket in a thrilling win over India in the third Test at the famous ground in July

Current Concerns

He has been out with a hand problem and struggled in England's only warm-up match against the Lions, returning match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from 24 overs

It also raises the scenario of the spinner playing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a first-class side

The agreement at the domestic team ended at the end of the home summer

Probable Team

However, an England team including Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are able to achieve high speeds - stays the expected conclusion

The first Test commences at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, specialist radio coverage and real-time features available

Team Selection

England squad for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (captain), Smith (gloveman), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

While a various successful Ashes campaigns at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously selected as numerous fast bowlers in the equivalent side

The team that triumphed at domestically in the famous series of that year featured Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

The captain's winning English side to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the England team that succeeded in those seasons featured Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - among the most highly anticipated Test series in recent memory - the English team are looking to change an awful record - they have not won a five-day game in Australia since that year

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

"This might be an positive," he told media outlets

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have said they have had challenging periods in this country

"In our case, we are a quite calm, extremely confident group

"No negative experiences

"It's thrilling

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

Host Team Situation

The Australian practice session on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

The hosts are likely to provide an opportunity to batsman Jack Weatherald, with new seamer Doggett also being included due to injuries to captain Cummins and colleague Hazlewood