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The tourists have left decisions open for the series opener by selecting off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve combined with five seamers

The fast bowler is declared fit and appears likely to feature versus the Aussies in Perth Stadium on Friday, with the final decision likely between spinner Bashir and fast bowler the seamer

Ground Situation

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four specialists along with all-rounder the captain - it would possibly be the most rapid assembly of bowlers they have deployed in an Ashes match in this country

On Wednesday Western Australia wicket preparer the curator stated to expect "speed and bounce" from the surface at Perth Stadium, and it looks possible the English will adhere to a established strategy of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the tourists have also observed a arid quality to the surface, bringing the off-spinner into the running

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five previous Tests have been played here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The team have supported the young spinner, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for since last year and in spring he was recognized as the youngest England bowler to attain fifty wickets in Tests

However he has been absent from a official match since securing the concluding scalp in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third Test at Lord's in July

Current Concerns

The spinner has been suffering from a hand problem and struggled in England's only warm-up match against the Lions, returning combined figures of 2-151 from twenty-four overs

This creates the prospect of him competing in an Ashes Test without being attached to a first-class side

The agreement at the domestic team ended at the finish of the English season

Probable Team

However, an England team containing Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Stokes and Carse - each of whom are likely to hit 90mph - stays the most likely outcome

The opening match commences at early morning GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, expert analysis and in-play highlights provided

Team Selection

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

Historical Context

While a various successful Ashes campaigns at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the identical lineup

The lineup that succeeded at in England in the celebrated contest of that year featured Steve Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's successful touring team to the host nation in 1970-71 had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the English side that triumphed in 1954-55 featured Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - potentially the most exciting England-Australia contests in recent years - the English team are looking to change an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since that year

Merely five individuals of the extended squad have experienced a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson states that could help the visitors

"This might be an advantage," he explained to the press

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

"For us, we are a quite calm, very positive team

"No bad memories

"It's thrilling

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to do something special"

Australian Preparations

Australia's practice session on Wednesday was momentarily paused by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are probably going to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with uncapped fast bowler Doggett also coming in following health issues to skipper Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood