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The English side has left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by selecting spin bowler the young spinner in a squad of twelve alongside five fast bowlers

The fast bowler is declared fit and seems set to play against Australia in Western Australia on Friday, with the last selection probably between off-spinner Bashir and seamer Carse

Pitch Conditions

If the visitors select an all-pace attack - four specialists combined with all-rounder the captain - it would arguably be the quickest collection of seamers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in this country

Recently local pitch curator Isaac McDonald said to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the venue, and it appears probable England will stick to a established strategy of an pace-only strategy

But the tourists have also observed a dryness to the wicket, placing the spinner into contention

Spin Considerations

In the short history of the ground - five earlier Tests have been staged here - Australian spin bowler the experienced spinner is the leading wicket-taker with 29

The team have supported Shoaib, 22, as their primary spin option for since last year and in recent months he achieved the most youthful English bowler to achieve fifty wickets in Tests

Yet he has not played a official match since securing the final wicket in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in July

Recent Issues

The spinner has been recovering from a broken finger and found it difficult in the sole practice game against the Lions, recording overall statistics of 2-151 from his bowling spell

This presents the prospect of Bashir playing in an Ashes match without being attached to a domestic team

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

Probable Team

However, an visiting team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - stays the probable result

The opening match starts at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, Test Match Special commentary and live action clips available

Playing Group

England squad for initial Ashes match: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (skipper), Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

While a several successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

The side that triumphed at domestically in the memorable competition of that year included Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's winning English side to Australia in that era had Willis, Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that won in 1954-55 included Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in recent memory - England are hoping to reverse an difficult past - they have failed to win a Test in the host country since over a decade ago

Just five players of the sixteen-player group have played a international Test in Australia, but Atkinson states that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an benefit," he mentioned to reporters

"There are a lot of players who have stated they have had challenging periods here in Australia

"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, very positive squad

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

"The entire team views it as a great possibility to create history"

Host Team Situation

The Australian training on this week was momentarily paused by the threat of lightning

The home side are expected to give a debut to batsman Jack Weatherald, with uncapped fast bowler Brendan Doggett also being included following fitness concerns to captain Cummins and teammate Hazlewood