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England have left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by selecting slow bowler Bashir in a squad of twelve together with five fast bowlers

Wood has been passed fit and is expected to participate versus the Aussies in Perth on the weekend, with the ultimate choice probably between the young spinner and pace bowler Carse

Wicket Factors

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists plus multi-skilled player the captain - it would potentially be the quickest collection of seamers they have fielded in an Ashes Test in this country

Recently local pitch curator McDonald said to expect "pace and bounce" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will follow a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

Yet the tourists have also observed a lack of moisture to the wicket, putting the spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

In the short history of this venue - five prior matches have been played here - Australia spin bowler the experienced spinner is the top wicket-taker with twenty-nine

England have supported Bashir, 22 years old, as their main slow bowler for more than a year and in recent months he achieved the least experienced English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

But he has been absent from a official match after taking the concluding scalp in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the third Test at Lord's in recently

Current Concerns

He has been suffering from a broken finger and struggled in England's only warm-up match against the development squad, returning match figures of 2-151 from twenty-four overs

This presents the prospect of Bashir playing in an Ashes Test without being affiliated with a domestic team

His deal at Somerset ended at the end of the home summer

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an English side containing Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Ben Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching 90mph - continues to be the expected conclusion

The initial game begins at early morning GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, expert analysis and live action clips available

Playing Group

Selected players for series opener: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

Although a number of successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The lineup that succeeded at in England in the celebrated contest of 2005 contained Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's winning English side to Australia in 1970-71 had Willis, Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in that period contained Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated Test series in modern times - the visitors are hoping to overturn an poor history - they have been unable to secure a five-day game in Australia since that year

Just five players of the sixteen-player group have participated in a international Test in the host nation, but Atkinson comments that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an advantage," he explained to reporters

"There are a many cricketers who have mentioned they have had some tough times down under

"Regarding our team, we are a quite calm, extremely confident team

"No scarring

"It's exhilarating

"We all see it as a great possibility to do something special"

Host Team Situation

Australia's net session on this week was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

Australia are likely to give a debut to opener Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut fast bowler Doggett also being included after fitness concerns to skipper Pat Cummins and colleague Hazlewood