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England have maintained flexibility for the series opener by including spin bowler the young spinner in a 12-man squad together with five fast bowlers

Wood has recovered and seems set to play against Australia in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice probably involving off-spinner Bashir and pace bowler the seamer

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four main pacers combined with all-rounder Stokes - it would possibly be the most rapid assembly of seamers they have used in an Ashes match in Australia

Earlier this week local pitch curator the curator commented to anticipate "speed and bounce" from the wicket at the stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will adhere to a established strategy of an pace-only strategy

However the English team have also observed a lack of moisture to the wicket, placing the spinner into consideration

Slow Bowling Factors

Throughout the limited timeframe of Perth Stadium - five prior matches have been hosted here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29

England have favored Bashir, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in spring he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to reach half-century of wickets in Test matches

However he has been absent from a official match after claiming the final wicket in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third match at the famous ground in summer

Recent Issues

The spinner has been suffering from a hand problem and found it difficult in the single preparation match against England Lions, recording combined figures of 2-151 from 24 overs

This creates the possibility of Bashir competing in an Ashes match without being contracted with a first-class side

His contract at the domestic team concluded at the end of the home summer

Expected Selection

However, an visiting team including Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Stokes and Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching high speeds - remains the most likely outcome

The opening match commences at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights accessible

Team Selection

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

Historical Context

Although a several English Ashes victories at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The lineup that triumphed at domestically in the famous series of 2005 featured Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the England team that succeeded in that period contained Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - potentially the most exciting England-Australia contests in modern times - the visitors are hoping to reverse an poor history - they have not won a five-day game in the host country since 2011

Just five players of the extended squad have participated in a Test match in the host nation, but Atkinson comments that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an benefit," he told media outlets

"There have been a lot of players who have mentioned they have had some tough times here in Australia

"For us, we are a extremely composed, very positive team

"No scarring

"It's very exciting

"Everyone considers it a massive chance to do something special"

Opposition News

The Australian practice session on this week was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are likely to provide an opportunity to opener Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Brendan Doggett also coming in due to health issues to skipper Pat Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood