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England have maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by including slow bowler the young spinner in a 12-man squad combined with five fast bowlers

The fast bowler has been passed fit and is expected to participate facing the hosts in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the last selection likely involving the young spinner and fast bowler the seamer

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four specialists combined with all-rounder Stokes - it would potentially be the quickest collection of bowlers they have deployed in an Ashes match in Australia

Earlier this week Western Australia wicket preparer the curator said to expect "fast and bouncy conditions" from the wicket at the stadium, and it appears probable England will stick to a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

But the English team have also observed a lack of moisture to the pitch, bringing the off-spinner into consideration

Spinning Options

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

England have backed the young spinner, 22, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in spring he became the most youthful English bowler to achieve half-century of wickets in Tests

But he has missed a competitive game since taking the final wicket in a exciting triumph over India in the third Test at Lord's in summer

Recent Issues

Bashir has been suffering from a finger injury and found it difficult in the sole practice game against the development squad, returning match figures of 2 for 151 from 24 overs

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

His deal at his county concluded at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an English side featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Stokes and Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90mph - stays the expected conclusion

The initial game commences at early morning GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and live action clips available

Team Selection

England squad for series opener: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Although a number of English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The lineup that triumphed at in England in the famous series of 2005 Ashes included Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to the host nation in that era had Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the England team that triumphed in those seasons contained Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent memory - England are aiming to reverse an poor history - they have been unable to secure a Test in Australia since that year

Just five players of the 16-man squad have played a Test in the host nation, but the bowler says that could help the visitors

"This might be an benefit," he explained to media outlets

"We've seen a many cricketers who have mentioned they have had challenging periods here in Australia

"Regarding our team, we are a quite calm, highly optimistic team

"No scarring

"It's very exciting

"We all see it as a massive chance to do something special"

Host Team Situation

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

The home side are expected to hand a first cap to opener Weatherald, with new pace bowler Brendan Doggett also joining due to fitness concerns to skipper Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood