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The tourists have left decisions open for the first Ashes Test by naming slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad alongside five pace bowlers

Mark Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature against Australia in Perth on the weekend, with the ultimate choice likely coming down to the young spinner and seamer Carse

Pitch Conditions

If England opt for an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers combined with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would possibly be the most rapid assembly of seamers they have used in an Test against Australia in Australia

Recently WA wicket preparer McDonald commented to look for "speed and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it looks possible the tourists will stick to a established strategy of an pace-only strategy

But the English team have also noted a dryness to the surface, placing Bashir into the running

Spinning Options

During the brief existence of the ground - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

England have favored Bashir, 22, as their primary spin option for since last year and in spring he became the least experienced English bowler to reach half-century of wickets in Tests

However he has missed a first-class game following securing the final wicket in a exciting triumph over India in the third match at the famous ground in summer

Current Concerns

Bashir has been recovering from a broken finger and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, posting combined figures of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

It also raises the scenario of Bashir participating in an Ashes match without being contracted with a domestic team

His deal at Somerset concluded at the finish of the English season

Expected Selection

Nevertheless, an England team including Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are capable of reaching high speeds - continues to be the expected conclusion

The initial game commences at early morning GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, Test Match Special commentary and live action clips available

England Squad

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Past Experience

While a number of English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the equivalent side

The team that triumphed at home in the celebrated contest of that year contained Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's winning English side to Australia in those years had Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that won in that period contained Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - potentially the most exciting Ashes series in recent memory - the visitors are aiming to reverse an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since over a decade ago

Merely five individuals of the sixteen-player group have experienced a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson comments 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 difficult experiences down under

"For us, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic team

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to create history"

Opposition News

The host team's practice session on recently was momentarily paused by the risk of storms

The hosts are probably going to give a debut to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Doggett also coming in due to injuries to captain Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood