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England have kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by selecting spin bowler Bashir in a twelve-player team together with five seamers

Mark Wood has recovered and seems set to play facing the hosts in Western Australia on Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly coming down to the young spinner and fast bowler Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

Should England choose an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers combined with all-rounder Ben Stokes - it would arguably be the most rapid assembly of bowlers they have fielded in an Test against Australia in Australia

Earlier this week Western Australia pitch curator Isaac McDonald stated to look for "pace and bounce" from the wicket at the stadium, and it appears probable the tourists will follow a traditional approach of an exclusively pace attack

But the English team have also noted a dryness to the surface, bringing the off-spinner into contention

Spin Considerations

In the short history of the ground - five earlier Tests have been staged here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29

England have favored Shoaib, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in May he became the least experienced English bowler to achieve fifty wickets in international Tests

Yet he has been absent from a first-class game following taking the concluding scalp in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in recently

Recent Challenges

He has been suffering from a hand problem and had challenges in the single preparation match against the development squad, recording overall statistics of two wickets for 151 runs from twenty-four overs

It also raises the possibility of him playing in an Ashes match without being attached to a first-class side

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

Expected Selection

However, an England team containing Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - stays the probable result

The opening match starts at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and in-play highlights available

England Squad

England squad for initial Ashes match: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

Although a number of successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the equivalent side

The lineup that succeeded at home in the memorable competition of 2005 Ashes featured Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to the host nation in that era had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the English side that won in 1954-55 featured Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in recent memory - the visitors are looking to reverse an poor history - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since 2011

Just five players of the 16-man squad have experienced a international Test in the host nation, but Atkinson states that could work in England's favour

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

"There are a numerous athletes who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences in this country

"For us, we are a extremely composed, very positive squad

"No scarring

"It's very exciting

"Everyone considers it a great possibility to do something special"

Australian Preparations

Australia's practice session on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

Australia are likely to give a debut to opener Jack Weatherald, with uncapped seamer Doggett also joining following health issues to skipper Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood