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

The fast bowler is declared fit and seems set to play against Australia in Perth on Friday, with the ultimate choice possibly involving spinner Bashir and seamer Brydon Carse

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four specialists plus all-rounder the captain - it would possibly be the quickest collection of seamers they have fielded in an Test against Australia in Australia

On Wednesday Western Australia groundsman the curator stated to look for "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the venue, and it seems likely the English will follow a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the tourists have also noted a dryness to the pitch, bringing the spinner into contention

Spin Considerations

During the brief existence of Perth Stadium - five earlier Tests have been staged here - Australian off-spinner Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals

The English management have favored Bashir, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in recent months he became the youngest England bowler to achieve fifty wickets in Tests

But he has been absent from a competitive game after taking the last dismissal in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the third match at the famous ground in summer

Recent Issues

Bashir has been recovering from a broken finger and had challenges in the single preparation match against the Lions, posting combined figures of 2 for 151 from his bowling spell

This creates the prospect of Bashir competing in an Ashes Test without being attached to a domestic team

The agreement at the domestic team expired at the end of the home summer

Probable Team

Still, an England team containing Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, captain Stokes and Carse - every one of them are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the most likely outcome

The initial game commences at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, expert analysis and in-play highlights provided

Playing Group

England squad for series opener: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a number of successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been built on pace, they have not previously used as numerous fast bowlers in the identical lineup

The team that won at home in the memorable competition of 2005 Ashes contained Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's triumphant visitors to Australia in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that succeeded in those seasons contained Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in modern times - England are looking to change an poor history - they have failed to win a Test match in Australia since that year

Only five members of the sixteen-player group have experienced a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson says that could benefit the English team

"It could be an advantage," he mentioned to media outlets

"There have been a lot of players who have stated they have had challenging periods in this country

"For us, we are a extremely composed, extremely confident group

"No negative experiences

"It's thrilling

"We all see it as a massive chance to create history"

Opposition News

The host team's practice session on recently was briefly delayed by the risk of storms

The hosts are expected to give a debut to opener Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Brendan Doggett also being included due to health issues to skipper Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood