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England have maintained flexibility for the initial Ashes match by including off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad alongside five pace bowlers

Wood has recovered and is expected to participate facing the hosts in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice probably coming down to spinner Bashir and seamer the seamer

Ground Situation

If the visitors select an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers combined with multi-skilled player the captain - it would possibly be the fastest group of bowlers they have used in an Ashes match in the host nation

Recently WA wicket preparer McDonald stated to look for "speed and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it looks possible England will stick to a established strategy of an pace-only strategy

Yet the tourists have also spotted a lack of moisture to the surface, placing the off-spinner into consideration

Spin Considerations

During the brief existence of this venue - five previous Tests have been played here - Australia off-spinner Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

England have favored Shoaib, 22 years old, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in spring he became the youngest England bowler to reach half-century of wickets in Tests

But he has been absent from a first-class game since taking the last dismissal in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in recently

Recent Issues

Bashir has been out with a broken finger and struggled in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, returning match figures of 2 for 151 from 24 overs

It also raises the possibility of Bashir participating in an Test against Australia without being attached to a domestic team

The agreement at his county concluded at the end of the home summer

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an English side including Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, captain Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are capable of reaching high speeds - continues to be the probable result

The initial game starts at early morning GMT on Friday, with live text coverage, Test Match Special commentary and in-play highlights available

England Squad

Selected players for series opener: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Stokes (captain), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Team Background

While a several English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously selected as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The team that triumphed at domestically in the memorable competition of 2005 featured Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in that era had Willis, Lever and Snow, and the England team that triumphed in those seasons contained Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - one of the most eagerly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent memory - the English team are hoping 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 experienced a Test match in the host nation, but the bowler comments that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an advantage," he explained to the press

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

"Regarding our team, we are a very relaxed, highly optimistic group

"No scarring

"It's very exciting

"The entire team views it as a great possibility to create history"

Opposition News

The host team's practice session on recently was momentarily paused by the risk of storms

The hosts are expected to provide an opportunity to opener Jack Weatherald, with new pace bowler Doggett also being included due to health issues to captain Pat Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood