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England have maintained flexibility for the series opener by selecting spin bowler Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve together with five pace bowlers

The fast bowler has been passed fit and is expected to participate against Australia in Perth on the weekend, with the ultimate choice likely involving the young spinner and fast bowler the seamer

Pitch Conditions

If the visitors select an fast bowling unit - four dedicated bowlers combined with all-rounder Stokes - it would arguably be the fastest group of bowlers they have used in an Test against Australia in the host nation

Earlier this week Western Australia wicket preparer Isaac McDonald stated to expect "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will adhere to a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

Yet the visitors have also observed a lack of moisture to the wicket, bringing the off-spinner into the running

Slow Bowling Factors

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five prior matches have been staged here - Australian off-spinner Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with twenty-nine

England have favored Shoaib, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for since last year and in May he became the least experienced English bowler to achieve half-century of wickets in Test matches

However he has not played a official match after claiming the final wicket in a thrilling win over India in the final Test at Lord's in recently

Current Concerns

The spinner has been out with a finger injury and struggled in the sole practice game against England Lions, posting match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from twenty-four overs

This creates the possibility of him playing in an Ashes Test without being affiliated with a domestic team

His deal at his county concluded at the finish of the English season

Expected Selection

Still, an English side containing Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the most likely outcome

The opening match starts at 2:20 AM GMT on Friday, with instant commentary, expert analysis and live action clips provided

England Squad

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

Historical Context

Although a various successful Ashes campaigns at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have not previously selected as many express pace bowlers in the same team

The team that triumphed at in England in the celebrated contest of that year featured Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to Australia in that era had Willis, Lever and Snow, and the England team that won in those seasons featured Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in modern times - the English team are looking to reverse an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since 2011

Merely five individuals of the extended squad have played a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could work in England's favour

"This could represent an advantage," he mentioned to the press

"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 squad

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

"The entire team views it as a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

The Australian net session on recently was temporarily interrupted by the risk of storms

The home side are likely to provide an opportunity to batsman Jack Weatherald, with uncapped pace bowler Brendan Doggett also coming in after injuries to skipper Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood