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England have left decisions open for the series opener by selecting spin bowler the young spinner in a twelve-player team alongside five seamers

The fast bowler is declared fit and seems set to play versus the Aussies in Perth Stadium on Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly coming down to spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Ground Situation

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four dedicated bowlers plus all-rounder Stokes - it would arguably be the fastest group of pacemen they have used in an Test against Australia in this country

Recently WA pitch curator McDonald commented to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it looks possible the English will adhere to a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

Yet the tourists have also noted a dryness to the wicket, bringing the off-spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

In the short history of this venue - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australia spin bowler Lyon is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

England have backed Bashir, 22, as their main slow bowler for since last year and in spring he became the least experienced English bowler to attain fifty wickets in Test matches

However he has missed a first-class game following claiming the final wicket in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in recently

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been suffering from a broken finger and struggled in the single preparation match against the Lions, returning overall statistics of 2-151 from his bowling spell

This presents the prospect of the spinner competing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a county

His deal at his county expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Expected Selection

Still, an visiting team containing Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching 90mph - stays the expected conclusion

The first Test begins at early morning GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, Test Match Special commentary and real-time features accessible

England Squad

England squad for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

Even though a number of England Ashes triumphs at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The side that won at home in the famous series of 2005 Ashes featured Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to the host nation in those years had Bob Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the England team that succeeded in that period contained Brian Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - potentially the most exciting England-Australia contests in recent memory - the English team are looking to overturn an poor history - they have failed to win a Test in the host country since that year

Just five players of the 16-man squad have experienced a Test match in the host nation, but the bowler comments that could benefit the English team

"It could be an positive," he told media outlets

"We've seen a lot of players who have said they have had challenging periods in this country

"For us, we are a very relaxed, highly optimistic team

"No bad memories

"It's very exciting

"Everyone considers it a huge opportunity to do something special"

Host Team Situation

The Australian practice session on recently was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

The hosts are expected to provide an opportunity to batsman Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Brendan Doggett also joining following injuries to captain Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood