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England have kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by selecting off-spinner Bashir in a 12-man squad alongside five pace bowlers

The fast bowler is declared fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth on Friday, with the ultimate choice probably between off-spinner Bashir and fast bowler the seamer

Ground Situation

Should England choose an all-pace attack - four specialists combined with all-rounder Stokes - it would possibly be the quickest collection of pacemen they have fielded in an Test against Australia in the host nation

Earlier this week Western Australia wicket preparer McDonald commented to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the surface at Perth Stadium, and it appears probable the tourists will adhere to a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

But the tourists have also spotted a lack of moisture to the wicket, putting the off-spinner into consideration

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australian off-spinner the experienced spinner is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The team have backed the young spinner, 22, as their primary spin option for since last year and in recent months he achieved the youngest England bowler to reach half-century of wickets in international Tests

However he has missed a competitive game since claiming the final wicket in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the third match at the famous ground in July

Recent Issues

The spinner has been suffering from a hand problem and found it difficult in the sole practice game against the Lions, recording combined figures of 2-151 from twenty-four overs

It also raises the scenario of Bashir competing in an Ashes match without being contracted with a county

The agreement at his county expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Still, an visiting team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching high speeds - continues to be the probable result

The opening match begins at early morning GMT on Friday, with live text coverage, Test Match Special commentary and in-play highlights available

Team Selection

Selected players for initial Ashes match: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

While a several English Ashes victories at in England and overseas have been built on pace, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the same team

The lineup that succeeded at domestically in the memorable competition of that year featured Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

The captain's successful touring team to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that won in 1954-55 featured Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in modern times - England are aiming to reverse an difficult past - they have failed to win a Test match in the host country since over a decade ago

Only five members of the extended squad have experienced a Test in Australia, but the bowler says that could work in England's favour

"This could represent an advantage," he mentioned to media outlets

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have mentioned they have had some tough times in this country

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, very positive team

"No bad memories

"It's very exciting

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

Opposition News

The Australian net session on recently was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are likely to provide an opportunity to batsman Weatherald, with new fast bowler Brendan Doggett also joining due to fitness concerns to skipper Pat Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood