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The tourists have maintained flexibility for the first Ashes Test by including spin bowler the young spinner in a 12-man squad alongside five fast bowlers

The fast bowler is declared fit and seems set to play facing the hosts in Perth on Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly between spinner Bashir and seamer Carse

Ground Situation

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four specialists combined with multi-skilled player the captain - it would arguably be the fastest group of bowlers they have fielded in an Ashes Test in the host nation

Earlier this week local pitch curator McDonald said to look for "pace and bounce" from the wicket at the stadium, and it seems likely the English will stick to a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the English team have also observed a dryness to the wicket, bringing the off-spinner into the running

Spinning Options

During the brief existence of the ground - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australian spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

The English management have supported Shoaib, 22 years old, as their main slow bowler for since last year and in spring he was recognized as the most youthful English bowler to reach fifty wickets in Test matches

However he has been absent from a official match after securing the final wicket in a dramatic victory over India in the third match at the famous ground in recently

Recent Challenges

He has been suffering from a hand problem and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against the Lions, recording match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from 24 overs

This creates the prospect of Bashir competing in an Ashes Test without being affiliated with a domestic team

The agreement at his county ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Expected Selection

Nevertheless, an England team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are able to achieve 90 miles per hour - continues to be the most likely outcome

The initial game begins at early morning GMT on Friday, with instant commentary, specialist radio coverage and live action clips accessible

England Squad

Selected players for series opener: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (wk), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

Although a number of successful Ashes campaigns at home and abroad have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

The side that succeeded at in England in the memorable competition of 2005 Ashes included Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's successful touring team to the host nation in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in those seasons contained Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

This time around - potentially the most exciting Ashes series in recent memory - England are hoping to reverse an poor history - they have not won a Test in Australia since that year

Merely five individuals of the extended squad have participated in a international Test in Australia, but the bowler states that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an advantage," he mentioned to the press

"There have been a lot of players who have mentioned they have had some tough times in this country

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

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

"The entire team views it as a huge opportunity to do something special"

Host Team Situation

The host team's practice session on this week was temporarily interrupted by the possibility of bad weather

Australia are likely to give a debut to batsman Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Brendan Doggett also being included due to injuries to skipper Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood