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England have left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by selecting slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a twelve-player team together with five pace bowlers

Mark Wood has recovered and is expected to participate facing the hosts in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice probably involving the young spinner and pace bowler the seamer

Ground Situation

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists combined with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would arguably be the quickest collection of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes Test in this country

Earlier this week local pitch curator Isaac McDonald said to anticipate "speed and bounce" from the wicket at the stadium, and it seems likely the English will adhere to a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

Yet the English team have also spotted a lack of moisture to the wicket, placing the spinner into contention

Spinning Options

In the short history of the ground - five previous Tests have been played here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

The English management have backed Bashir, twenty-two, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in May he became the least experienced English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Tests

But he has missed a official match following taking the last dismissal in a thrilling win over India in the third Test at the famous ground in summer

Recent Issues

Bashir has been recovering from a finger injury and had challenges in the single preparation match against the Lions, posting match figures of 2-151 from his bowling spell

This presents the possibility of the spinner playing in an Test against Australia without being attached to a county

His deal at Somerset expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an visiting team including Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the most likely outcome

The opening match begins at 02:20 GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and real-time features available

England Squad

Selected players for initial Ashes match: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Stokes (leader), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

Although a various successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as numerous fast bowlers in the same team

The team that triumphed at in England in the celebrated contest of that year featured Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in those seasons contained Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in recent memory - the English team are aiming to reverse an difficult past - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since 2011

Merely five individuals of the 16-man squad have participated in a international Test in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could benefit the English team

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

"There have been a numerous athletes who have stated they have had challenging periods in this country

"Regarding our team, we are a quite calm, extremely confident group

"No scarring

"It's very exciting

"The entire team views it as a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"

Opposition News

The host team's practice session on this week was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

Australia are probably going to provide an opportunity to batsman Jack Weatherald, with uncapped seamer Doggett also being included after injuries to skipper Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood