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England have maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by selecting off-spinner the young spinner in a twelve-player team alongside five seamers

Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the last selection probably involving off-spinner Bashir and fast bowler Carse

Ground Situation

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four specialists combined with all-rounder Stokes - it would potentially be the fastest group of seamers they have used in an Ashes Test in Australia

Recently WA wicket preparer the curator commented to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the surface at the stadium, and it appears probable the English will adhere to a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the tourists have also noted a arid quality to the surface, bringing the spinner into contention

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of Perth Stadium - five previous Tests have been staged here - Australia spin bowler the experienced spinner is the leading wicket-taker with twenty-nine

The team have supported Bashir, 22, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in spring he was recognized as the most youthful English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

Yet he has been absent from a competitive game since taking the final wicket in a dramatic victory over India in the third match at the famous ground in recently

Recent Issues

The spinner has been recovering from a finger injury and struggled in the sole practice game against the development squad, posting combined figures of two wickets for 151 runs from 24 overs

This presents the possibility of Bashir participating in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a first-class side

The agreement at Somerset expired at the finish of the English season

Expected Selection

Nevertheless, an visiting team featuring Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - continues to be the most likely outcome

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

Playing Group

Selected players for series opener: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

Even though a several English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the same team

The side that triumphed at in England in the memorable competition of 2005 included Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

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

Current Situation

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in recent years - England are looking to overturn an awful record - they have not won a five-day game in Australia since 2011

Just five players of the 16-man squad have played a international Test in Australia, but the bowler states that could help the visitors

"This could represent an advantage," he told reporters

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

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

"No scarring

"It's very exciting

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"

Opposition News

Australia's training on Wednesday was temporarily interrupted by the risk of storms

The hosts are expected to give a debut to batsman Jack Weatherald, with new seamer Brendan Doggett also being included following injuries to captain Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood