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The tourists have maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by naming spin bowler the young spinner in a 12-man squad combined with five pace bowlers

The fast bowler has been passed fit and seems set to play against Australia in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice likely involving off-spinner Bashir and fast bowler the seamer

Ground Situation

Should England choose an all-pace attack - four specialists along with all-rounder the captain - it would possibly be the most rapid assembly of seamers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in this country

Earlier this week local pitch curator the curator stated to look for "fast and bouncy conditions" from the surface at Perth Stadium, and it looks possible the tourists will follow a established strategy of an fast bowling focus

However the English team have also noted a dryness to the surface, bringing the spinner into consideration

Slow Bowling Factors

In the short history of Perth Stadium - five earlier Tests have been staged here - Australian spin bowler Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

The English management have favored the young spinner, 22, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in recent months he became the most youthful English bowler to attain 50 wickets in Test matches

Yet he has missed a official match since claiming the last dismissal in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in summer

Recent Challenges

He has been suffering from a hand problem and struggled in the single preparation match against the development squad, posting combined figures of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

This presents the scenario of Bashir competing in an Ashes match without being contracted with a first-class side

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

Likely Lineup

However, an visiting team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Carse - all of whom are likely to hit high speeds - remains the expected conclusion

The first Test commences at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, specialist radio coverage and live action clips available

Team Selection

Team lineup for series opener: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

While a various successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The lineup that triumphed at home in the celebrated contest of 2005 included Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in those years had Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the England team that triumphed in that period featured Brian Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in recent memory - England 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 extended squad have participated in a Test match in Australia, but the bowler states that could help the visitors

"This could represent an positive," he explained to media outlets

"There have been a lot of players who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences in this country

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, highly optimistic squad

"No bad memories

"It's thrilling

"The entire team views it as a huge opportunity to create history"

Australian Preparations

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

The home side are likely to hand a first cap to batsman Jack Weatherald, with new fast bowler Brendan Doggett also coming in following injuries to skipper Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood