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The English side has maintained flexibility for the first Ashes Test by including slow bowler the young spinner in a twelve-player team combined with five fast bowlers

Mark Wood has recovered and seems set to play facing the hosts in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the final decision possibly coming down to off-spinner Bashir and pace bowler the seamer

Pitch Conditions

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four main pacers plus multi-skilled player Stokes - it would potentially be the fastest group of seamers they have used in an Ashes match in the host nation

On Wednesday WA wicket preparer Isaac McDonald said to anticipate "fast and bouncy conditions" from the surface at the stadium, and it seems likely England will follow a traditional approach of an exclusively pace attack

But the tourists have also noted a dryness to the surface, bringing the off-spinner into the running

Slow Bowling Factors

In the short history of the ground - five prior matches have been played here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The English management have favored Shoaib, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in recent months he became the most youthful English bowler to attain fifty wickets in Tests

Yet he has been absent from a competitive game after securing the last dismissal in a dramatic victory over India in the third Test at the famous ground in recently

Recent Challenges

He has been out with a finger injury and found it difficult in England's only warm-up match against the Lions, posting match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from 24 overs

This presents the possibility of Bashir competing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a county

The agreement at Somerset expired at the end of the home summer

Likely Lineup

However, an visiting team containing Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Carse - all of whom are able to achieve 90 miles per hour - remains the probable result

The initial game commences at early morning GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, Test Match Special commentary and in-play highlights provided

Playing Group

Team lineup for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

While a number of English Ashes victories at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

The team that succeeded at home in the famous series of 2005 featured Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the England team that won in 1954-55 featured Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

This time around - potentially the most exciting England-Australia contests in recent years - the English team are looking to reverse an awful record - they have not won a five-day game in the host country since 2011

Merely five individuals of the 16-man squad have participated in a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson comments that could benefit the English team

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

"There have been a many cricketers who have stated they have had some tough times down under

"In our case, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic squad

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

"We all see it as a great possibility to achieve something remarkable"

Australian Preparations

Australia's practice session on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are expected to provide an opportunity to opener Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Doggett also joining after health issues to captain Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood