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The English side has left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by naming off-spinner the young spinner in a twelve-player team combined with five seamers

The fast bowler has recovered and appears likely to feature versus the Aussies in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the last selection probably coming down to the young spinner and seamer Carse

Pitch Conditions

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers plus all-rounder the captain - it would possibly be the quickest collection of seamers they have used in an Test against Australia in the host nation

On Wednesday Western Australia groundsman the curator commented to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the wicket at the stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will stick to a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

Yet the English team have also noted a dryness to the pitch, putting the spinner into the running

Slow Bowling Factors

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five previous Tests have been hosted here - Australian spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29

The English management have favored Bashir, 22, as their first-choice spinner for over twelve months and in spring he became the least experienced English bowler to achieve fifty wickets in international Tests

However he has been absent from a official match following claiming the concluding scalp in a exciting triumph over India in the final Test at Lord's in recently

Current Concerns

The spinner has been out with a broken finger and had challenges in the sole practice game against England Lions, recording match figures of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

This presents the scenario of Bashir competing in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a first-class side

His deal at the domestic team ended at the conclusion of the domestic season

Probable Team

However, an England team featuring Wood, Archer, Atkinson, captain Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90 miles per hour - continues to be the most likely outcome

The opening match commences at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and live action clips provided

Team Selection

Team lineup for series opener: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Stokes (leader), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

Although a number of English Ashes victories at in England and overseas have been constructed around fast bowling, they have never fielded as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The team that triumphed at domestically in the memorable competition of 2005 Ashes contained Steve Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to the host nation in those years had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that won in 1954-55 included Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - potentially the most exciting Test series in recent memory - the English team are hoping to overturn an awful record - they have failed to win a five-day game in the host country since that year

Just five players of the sixteen-player group have experienced a Test match in Australia, but the bowler states that could benefit the English team

"It could be an advantage," he told the press

"We've seen a lot of players who have stated they have had some tough times here in Australia

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, extremely confident squad

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

"The entire team views it as a massive chance to do something special"

Australian Preparations

The Australian practice session on Wednesday was temporarily interrupted by the possibility of bad weather

The hosts are expected to provide an opportunity to batsman Weatherald, with uncapped pace bowler Brendan Doggett also joining after injuries to captain Cummins and colleague Hazlewood