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The English side has kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by including slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve alongside five fast bowlers

Wood is declared fit and seems set to play against Australia in Western Australia on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice probably between spinner Bashir and seamer Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four dedicated bowlers plus multi-skilled player Ben Stokes - it would arguably be the quickest collection of seamers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in Australia

Earlier this week Western Australia groundsman McDonald commented to look for "fast and bouncy conditions" from the surface at the stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will stick to a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

However the English team have also spotted a dryness to the pitch, putting the spinner into the running

Spin Considerations

Throughout the limited timeframe of Perth Stadium - five prior matches have been staged here - Australia spin bowler the experienced spinner is the leading wicket-taker with twenty-nine

The team have favored Bashir, twenty-two, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in spring he was recognized as the most youthful English bowler to achieve fifty wickets in international Tests

But he has missed a first-class game following claiming the concluding scalp in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the final Test at Lord's in recently

Recent Issues

The spinner has been suffering from a finger injury and had challenges in the sole practice game against the Lions, posting overall statistics of 2-151 from 24 overs

This presents the prospect of Bashir competing in an Ashes match without being contracted with a county

His deal at Somerset expired at the finish of the English season

Likely Lineup

Still, an visiting team containing Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, captain Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching 90mph - remains the probable result

The initial game commences at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, Test Match Special commentary and live action clips available

Playing Group

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Team Background

Although a number of successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been founded on quick bowling, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the identical lineup

The side that triumphed at in England in the celebrated contest of 2005 Ashes included Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in that era had Bob Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the England team that won in those seasons included Brian Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in modern times - the English team are aiming to change an poor history - they have failed to win a five-day game in the host country since 2011

Only five members of the extended squad have participated in a Test in Australia, but Atkinson says that could help the visitors

"This might be an benefit," he told the press

"We've seen a numerous athletes who have said they have had challenging periods down under

"For us, we are a very relaxed, extremely confident team

"No negative experiences

"It's thrilling

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

Australia's training on this week was temporarily interrupted by the possibility of bad weather

The hosts are likely to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut fast bowler Brendan Doggett also coming in due to fitness concerns to skipper Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood