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England have kept their options open for the series opener by including off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad combined with five pace bowlers

Mark Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature versus the Aussies in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the final decision probably between off-spinner Bashir and seamer Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

If England opt for an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists combined with all-rounder the captain - it would potentially be the quickest collection of seamers they have fielded in an Test against Australia in this country

On Wednesday WA groundsman Isaac McDonald said to look for "pace and bounce" from the wicket at the stadium, and it looks possible the English will stick to a established strategy of an pace-only strategy

Yet the tourists have also noted a dryness to the pitch, bringing Bashir into consideration

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australia spin bowler Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The English management have backed Shoaib, 22 years old, as their main slow bowler for since last year and in spring he became the least experienced English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Tests

Yet he has missed a competitive game since taking the concluding scalp in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the final Test at Lord's in summer

Current Concerns

The spinner has been recovering from a hand problem and found it difficult in the sole practice game against the Lions, recording match figures of 2 for 151 from 24 overs

It also raises the possibility of him participating in an Ashes Test without being attached to a first-class side

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

Probable Team

However, an England team including Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90mph - continues to be the most likely outcome

The first Test commences at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, specialist radio coverage and live action clips available

Playing Group

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

Historical Context

While a number of successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the same team

The side that succeeded at domestically in the memorable competition of 2005 Ashes included Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to the host nation in those years had Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the English side that triumphed in that period contained Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Modern Context

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent years - the English team are looking to change an poor history - they have failed to win a five-day game in Australia since that year

Only five members of the extended squad have experienced a Test match in Australia, but the bowler comments that could help the visitors

"This could represent an advantage," he mentioned to reporters

"We've seen a lot of players who have said they have had some tough times in this country

"For us, we are a very relaxed, very positive group

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

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

Host Team Situation

The host team's training on recently was temporarily interrupted by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are expected to provide an opportunity to opener Jack Weatherald, with new fast bowler Brendan Doggett also coming in due to injuries to skipper Cummins and teammate Hazlewood