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England have kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by selecting off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad alongside five seamers

Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature against Australia in Perth on Friday, with the ultimate choice probably between the young spinner and seamer Brydon Carse

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers along with all-rounder the captain - it would potentially be the fastest group of bowlers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in Australia

Recently Western Australia wicket preparer the curator commented to anticipate "fast and bouncy conditions" from the wicket at the stadium, and it appears probable England will adhere to a long-standing plan of an pace-only strategy

Yet the English team have also spotted a lack of moisture to the pitch, putting the spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

In the short history of this venue - five prior matches have been played here - Australia off-spinner the experienced spinner is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

England have favored Shoaib, 22, as their primary spin option for more than a year and in spring he became the most youthful English bowler to attain fifty wickets in Test matches

Yet he has missed a official match following securing the last dismissal in a exciting triumph over India in the third match at Lord's in summer

Recent Challenges

He has been recovering from a broken finger and had challenges in the sole practice game against the Lions, returning match figures of 2-151 from twenty-four overs

This creates the possibility of the spinner competing in an Test against Australia without being attached to a domestic team

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

Likely Lineup

Still, an visiting team containing Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90mph - continues to be the probable result

The initial game commences at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, expert analysis and in-play highlights accessible

Team Selection

England squad for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Past Experience

While a various English Ashes victories at domestically and internationally have been founded on quick bowling, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the same team

The team that triumphed at home in the famous series of 2005 Ashes contained Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's winning English side to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the English side that triumphed in that period featured Brian Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in modern times - England are aiming to reverse an poor history - they have not won a Test match in Australia since over a decade ago

Merely five individuals of the sixteen-player group have participated in a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson comments that could benefit the English team

"It could be an advantage," he told reporters

"There are a many cricketers who have said they have had difficult experiences down under

"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, very positive group

"No scarring

"It's exhilarating

"Everyone considers it a great possibility to do something special"

Host Team Situation

Australia's training on recently was temporarily interrupted by the threat of lightning

Australia are probably going to provide an opportunity to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Brendan Doggett also joining due to injuries to captain Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood