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England have maintained flexibility for the first Ashes Test by naming off-spinner the young spinner in a 12-man squad alongside five seamers

The fast bowler has recovered and appears likely to feature versus the Aussies in Western Australia on the weekend, with the last selection likely between off-spinner Bashir and pace bowler the seamer

Wicket Factors

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four specialists combined with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would arguably be the fastest group of seamers they have deployed in an Ashes match in Australia

Recently Western Australia groundsman Isaac McDonald said to expect "fast and bouncy conditions" from the pitch at the venue, and it looks possible the English will adhere to a established strategy of an fast bowling focus

But the English team have also noted a lack of moisture to the surface, placing the off-spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

In the short history of this venue - five prior matches have been hosted here - Australian off-spinner Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29

The team have favored Bashir, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for more than a year and in May he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to achieve 50 wickets in international Tests

Yet he has not played a official match since taking the last dismissal in a exciting triumph over India in the final Test at Lord's in July

Recent Issues

He has been out with a finger injury and found it difficult in England's only warm-up match against the development squad, returning match figures of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

This creates the scenario of him participating in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a domestic team

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

Expected Selection

However, an visiting team featuring Wood, Archer, Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are able to achieve 90 miles per hour - stays the expected conclusion

The opening match starts at early morning GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and real-time features available

England Squad

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

Historical Context

While a number of English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have never fielded as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

The lineup that triumphed at domestically in the celebrated contest of that year featured Steve Harmison, Jones and Andrew Flintoff

Illingworth's winning English side to Australia in 1970-71 had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the English side that won in 1954-55 included Brian Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - one of the most eagerly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent memory - the English team are looking to reverse an awful record - they have failed to win a Test in Australia since 2011

Only five members of the 16-man squad have played a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an benefit," he told reporters

"There have been a lot of players who have said they have had difficult experiences in this country

"In our case, we are a quite calm, very positive team

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"The entire team views it as a great possibility to achieve something remarkable"

Opposition News

The Australian training on recently was momentarily paused by the risk of storms

The hosts are likely to give a debut to opener Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Brendan Doggett also joining due to injuries to captain Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood