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England have kept their options open for the series opener by naming slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad together with five seamers

The fast bowler is declared fit and seems set to play against Australia in Perth on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice probably between spinner Bashir and pace bowler Brydon Carse

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers along with all-rounder Stokes - it would potentially be the quickest collection of bowlers they have used in an Ashes Test in Australia

On Wednesday local pitch curator the curator said to expect "pace and bounce" from the surface at Perth Stadium, and it seems likely England will follow a traditional approach of an exclusively pace attack

But the English team have also spotted a lack of moisture to the pitch, bringing the spinner into contention

Slow Bowling Factors

During the brief existence of this venue - five previous Tests have been played here - Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29

The team have favored Shoaib, twenty-two, as their first-choice spinner for more than a year and in May he was recognized as the youngest England bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

Yet he has been absent from a competitive game since claiming the concluding scalp in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third Test at Lord's in recently

Recent Issues

He has been recovering from a finger injury and found it difficult in the sole practice game against the development squad, recording overall statistics of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

This presents the scenario of him competing in an Test against Australia without being contracted with a first-class side

His deal at his county expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

However, an England team including Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are likely to hit 90mph - remains the probable result

The first Test commences at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and live action clips accessible

Team Selection

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

Historical Context

Even though a number of English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously used as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

The lineup that triumphed at home in the memorable competition of 2005 contained Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's successful touring team to Australia in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that won in 1954-55 featured Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in recent years - the visitors are looking to change an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test in the host country since over a decade ago

Merely five individuals of the extended squad have participated in a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson comments that could benefit the English team

"It could be an positive," he told reporters

"We've seen a lot of players who have stated they have had some tough times in this country

"For us, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic team

"No bad memories

"It's very exciting

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

Host Team Situation

The Australian practice session on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the risk of storms

Australia are likely to give a debut to batsman Weatherald, with new seamer Doggett also being included after health issues to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Hazlewood