England Include Bashir in Team for The Ashes series First Test

England have maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by naming slow bowler the young spinner in a squad of twelve alongside five seamers

Mark Wood has recovered and is expected to participate versus the Aussies in Western Australia on Friday, with the ultimate choice likely between the young spinner and fast bowler Brydon Carse

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an all-pace attack - four main pacers along with multi-skilled player the captain - it would potentially be the fastest group of seamers they have used in an Ashes match in this country

Earlier this week Western Australia pitch curator Isaac McDonald commented to expect "pace and bounce" from the pitch at Perth Stadium, and it appears probable the English will adhere to a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

But the visitors have also noted a dryness to the wicket, putting Bashir into the running

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five earlier Tests have been staged here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29

The team have favored Bashir, 22, as their primary spin option for since last year and in spring he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to reach 50 wickets in Tests

But he has been absent from a first-class game after taking the final wicket in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in recently

Current Concerns

He has been out with a finger injury and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against the Lions, posting match figures of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

This presents the scenario of him participating in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a domestic team

The agreement at his county concluded at the end of the home summer

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an England team including Wood, Archer, Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Carse - each of whom are able to achieve 90mph - continues to be the most likely outcome

The initial game starts at early morning GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and real-time features provided

Team Selection

Selected players for series opener: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

Although a various English Ashes victories at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The side that triumphed at domestically in the memorable competition of 2005 featured Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the England team that won in 1954-55 contained Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - potentially the most exciting Test series in modern times - the English team are aiming to reverse an awful record - they have failed to win a five-day game in Australia since that year

Just five players of the 16-man squad have played a Test match in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could work in England's favour

"This might be an positive," he told the press

"There have been a numerous athletes who have mentioned they have had some tough times down under

"For us, we are a quite calm, extremely confident squad

"No scarring

"It's very exciting

"The entire team views it as a great possibility to create history"

Australian Preparations

The host team's net session on Wednesday was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

The home side are likely to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with new seamer Doggett also being included following injuries to captain Cummins and colleague Hazlewood