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The tourists have left decisions open for the series opener by including off-spinner the young spinner in a 12-man squad alongside five seamers

Mark Wood is declared fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth Stadium on the weekend, with the final decision possibly between off-spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an fast bowling unit - four dedicated bowlers along with multi-skilled player the captain - it would arguably be the quickest collection of seamers they have used in an Ashes Test in the host nation

Recently WA pitch curator McDonald said to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the venue, and it seems likely England will follow a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

However the English team have also noted a dryness to the pitch, putting the off-spinner into contention

Spinning Options

During the brief existence of the ground - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australian off-spinner the experienced spinner is the leading wicket-taker with twenty-nine

England have favored Bashir, 22, as their first-choice spinner for more than a year and in May he achieved the youngest England bowler to reach half-century of wickets in Tests

However he has missed a competitive game after claiming the last dismissal in a thrilling win over India in the final Test at the famous ground in July

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been recovering from a finger injury and had challenges in the sole practice game against England Lions, posting overall statistics of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

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

His contract at Somerset concluded at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an English side including Wood, Archer, Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90mph - remains the probable result

The initial game starts at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights accessible

Playing Group

England squad for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (captain), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Past Experience

Although a several English Ashes victories at in England and overseas have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The side that won at in England in the famous series of 2005 contained Steve Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in 1970-71 had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the English side that triumphed in that period featured Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in modern times - the visitors are hoping to reverse an poor history - they have failed to win a Test in Australia since that year

Only five members of the sixteen-player group have played a international Test in the host nation, but the bowler states that could work in England's favour

"It could be an benefit," he explained to reporters

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

"For us, we are a extremely composed, highly optimistic team

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"Everyone considers it a great possibility to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

Australia's net session on Wednesday was temporarily interrupted by the risk of storms

The home side are probably going to provide an opportunity to opener Weatherald, with uncapped seamer Brendan Doggett also coming in after health issues to skipper Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood