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England have left decisions open for the series opener by naming off-spinner the young spinner in a twelve-player team together with five pace bowlers

The fast bowler is declared fit and appears likely to feature against Australia in Perth on the weekend, with the final decision likely coming down to off-spinner Bashir and pace bowler Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four main pacers along with all-rounder Stokes - it would potentially be the quickest collection of seamers they have fielded in an Test against Australia in this country

Recently Western Australia pitch curator McDonald stated to look for "speed and bounce" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it appears probable England will adhere to a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the tourists have also noted a arid quality to the wicket, placing Bashir into contention

Slow Bowling Factors

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five previous Tests have been played here - Australian spin bowler Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

England have favored Bashir, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in spring he achieved the youngest England bowler to achieve 50 wickets in Tests

But he has been absent from a official match since securing the final wicket in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the final Test at Lord's in July

Current Concerns

The spinner has been out with a broken finger and struggled in the sole practice game against England Lions, returning combined figures of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

This presents the possibility of the spinner playing in an Ashes match without being attached to a first-class side

His deal at the domestic team expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

However, an English side containing Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - stays the probable result

The first Test starts at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, expert analysis and live action clips provided

Team Selection

Team lineup for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (captain), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a various successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have never fielded as multiple quick bowlers in the equivalent side

The lineup that won at home in the famous series of 2005 Ashes contained Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in those years had Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that won in that period included Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in modern times - the English team are aiming to reverse an difficult past - they have failed to win a Test match in Australia since over a decade ago

Just five players of the sixteen-player group have participated in a international Test in Australia, but the bowler says that could help the visitors

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

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

"Regarding our team, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic squad

"No scarring

"It's exhilarating

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

Host Team Situation

The host team's training on recently was momentarily paused by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are probably going to provide an opportunity to opener Weatherald, with new fast bowler Brendan Doggett also coming in after injuries to captain Cummins and teammate Hazlewood