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The English side has maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by selecting off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve combined with five pace bowlers

The fast bowler has recovered and appears likely to feature versus the Aussies in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the last selection possibly involving spinner Bashir and seamer Carse

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an all-pace attack - four specialists plus multi-skilled player Stokes - it would potentially be the fastest group of seamers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in this country

Earlier this week local wicket preparer McDonald said to expect "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the venue, and it looks possible the tourists will adhere to a long-standing plan of an fast bowling focus

However the English team have also noted a dryness to the surface, placing the spinner into contention

Slow Bowling Factors

During the brief existence of the ground - five previous Tests have been staged here - Australian spin bowler Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29

The English management have supported Bashir, 22 years old, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in recent months he was recognized as the youngest England bowler to reach half-century of wickets in Test matches

Yet he has been absent from a first-class game since securing the last dismissal in a exciting triumph over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in recently

Recent Issues

He has been suffering from a broken finger and found it difficult in the sole practice game against England Lions, recording match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

This presents the scenario of the spinner participating in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a first-class side

The agreement at the domestic team ended at the finish of the English season

Expected Selection

However, an visiting team including Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain 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 begins at 02:20 GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights provided

England Squad

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Even though a several English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have never fielded as numerous fast bowlers in the same team

The side that succeeded at home in the memorable competition of that year contained Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

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

Current Situation

On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in recent years - the visitors are aiming to reverse an awful record - they have not won a Test match in Australia since 2011

Only five members of the sixteen-player group have participated in a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson says that could benefit the English team

"This might be an benefit," he told reporters

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences down under

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, very positive team

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

The host team's net session on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the risk of storms

The hosts are expected to provide an opportunity to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Doggett also being included due to health issues to captain Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood