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The English side has kept their options open for the series opener by including slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a twelve-player team alongside five fast bowlers

Mark Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the last selection possibly between off-spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four dedicated bowlers plus all-rounder the captain - it would potentially be the quickest collection of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes Test in this country

On Wednesday local pitch curator McDonald said to expect "pace and bounce" from the wicket at the venue, and it looks possible the tourists will stick to a established strategy of an exclusively pace attack

However the visitors have also spotted a dryness to the pitch, placing the off-spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five previous Tests have been played here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29

The team have backed Bashir, twenty-two, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in spring he achieved the least experienced English bowler to achieve 50 wickets in Test matches

But he has missed a official match since taking the concluding scalp in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third Test at the famous ground in summer

Recent Challenges

He has been out with a hand problem and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, posting match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from twenty-four overs

This presents the prospect of Bashir playing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a first-class side

His contract at Somerset concluded at the conclusion of the domestic season

Expected Selection

Still, an visiting team featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the most likely outcome

The initial game commences at early morning GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, expert analysis and in-play highlights available

Team Selection

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

Although a several successful Ashes campaigns at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have never fielded as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

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

The captain's successful touring team to Australia in that era had Bob Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the England team that succeeded in those seasons included Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Present Circumstances

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated England-Australia contests in modern times - England are looking to change an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test in the host country since over a decade ago

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

"This might be an benefit," he explained to media outlets

"There are a many cricketers who have said they have had some tough times in this country

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

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

Australia's training on recently was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

The hosts are probably going to give a debut to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Brendan Doggett also coming in due to fitness concerns to captain Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood