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The English side has left decisions open for the initial Ashes match by naming slow bowler Bashir in a 12-man squad combined with five pace bowlers

The fast bowler is declared fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Western Australia on the weekend, with the final decision probably between off-spinner Bashir and seamer Brydon Carse

Wicket Factors

If the visitors select an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers plus all-rounder the captain - it would potentially be the most rapid assembly of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes match in the host nation

Earlier this week local wicket preparer McDonald stated to expect "fast and bouncy conditions" from the wicket at the venue, and it seems likely England will stick to a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

Yet the English team have also noted a arid quality to the surface, putting the spinner into the running

Spinning Options

In the short history of the ground - five previous Tests have been hosted here - Australia spin bowler the experienced spinner is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The team have backed Shoaib, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for since last year and in spring he became the least experienced English bowler to attain fifty wickets in Test matches

But he has missed a first-class game since claiming the final wicket in a thrilling win over India in the third match at the famous ground in recently

Current Concerns

Bashir has been recovering from a broken finger and struggled in the sole practice game against the development squad, returning match figures of 2-151 from 24 overs

This creates the possibility of Bashir playing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a county

The agreement at Somerset ended at the end of the home summer

Expected Selection

Nevertheless, an England team featuring Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Stokes and Carse - all of whom are able to achieve 90 miles per hour - stays the expected conclusion

The first Test starts at 02:20 GMT on Friday, with instant commentary, expert analysis and in-play highlights provided

Team Selection

Selected players for initial Ashes match: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Smith (gloveman), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Although a number of successful Ashes campaigns at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have never fielded as multiple quick bowlers in the equivalent side

The side that succeeded at domestically in the celebrated contest of 2005 Ashes contained Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

The captain's winning English side to Australia in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the England team that triumphed in those seasons included Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Present Circumstances

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in modern times - England are hoping to overturn an difficult past - they have been unable to secure a Test in the host country since that year

Just five players of the sixteen-player group have played a Test in Australia, but Atkinson says that could help the visitors

"It could be an positive," he told reporters

"We've seen a many cricketers who have said they have had challenging periods in this country

"For us, we are a quite calm, extremely confident group

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

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

Host Team Situation

Australia's net session on recently was briefly delayed by the risk of storms

The home side are expected to provide an opportunity to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Brendan Doggett also coming in after health issues to captain Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood