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The English side has kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by selecting spin bowler Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad combined with five pace bowlers

Wood has recovered and seems set to play against Australia in Perth on the coming Friday, with the final decision likely involving off-spinner Bashir and pace bowler Carse

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an all-pace attack - four main pacers combined with all-rounder the captain - it would possibly be the quickest collection of seamers they have used in an Ashes Test in the host nation

Earlier this week WA pitch curator the curator stated to look for "pace and bounce" from the wicket at the venue, and it seems likely England will follow a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

Yet the English team have also spotted a arid quality to the wicket, putting the spinner into contention

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of Perth Stadium - five prior matches have been hosted here - Australian off-spinner Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with twenty-nine

England have backed Shoaib, twenty-two, as their first-choice spinner for over twelve months and in recent months he was recognized as the youngest England bowler to attain 50 wickets in Test matches

But he has been absent from a competitive game since taking the final wicket in a exciting triumph over India in the third Test at Lord's in July

Recent Issues

The spinner has been suffering from a hand problem and struggled in England's only warm-up match against the development squad, posting combined figures of 2 for 151 from 24 overs

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

His deal at Somerset ended at the end of the home summer

Expected Selection

However, an visiting team containing Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - remains the probable result

The opening match begins at early morning GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and real-time features provided

Team Selection

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

Past Experience

Although a number of successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the identical lineup

The team that won at domestically in the famous series of 2005 contained Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in that era had Willis, Lever and Snow, and the England team that won in those seasons contained Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in modern times - the visitors are hoping to reverse an awful record - they have not won a Test in Australia since that year

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

"This might be an advantage," he mentioned to reporters

"There have been a many cricketers who have mentioned they have had challenging periods in this country

"Regarding our team, we are a quite calm, extremely confident squad

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to create history"

Australian Preparations

The Australian net session on Wednesday was temporarily interrupted by the threat of lightning

Australia are expected to hand a first cap to opener Jack Weatherald, with new fast bowler Brendan Doggett also coming in after health issues to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood