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The English side has left decisions open for the first Ashes Test by selecting spin bowler the young spinner in a twelve-player team combined with five seamers

Mark Wood has been passed fit and seems set to play against Australia in Perth on the weekend, with the last selection possibly involving spinner Bashir and pace bowler the seamer

Pitch Conditions

If the visitors select an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers combined with all-rounder Ben Stokes - it would potentially be the quickest collection of pacemen they have fielded in an Ashes match in Australia

Earlier this week WA wicket preparer Isaac McDonald stated to look for "speed and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it appears probable the tourists will stick to a established strategy of an fast bowling focus

However the tourists have also noted a lack of moisture to the pitch, putting the off-spinner into contention

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the top wicket-taker with twenty-nine

England have supported the young spinner, 22, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in spring he achieved the least experienced English bowler to attain half-century of wickets in international Tests

However he has been absent from a official match after claiming the concluding scalp in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third match at the famous ground in recently

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been suffering from a broken finger and struggled in the single preparation match against the Lions, recording combined figures of two wickets for 151 runs from twenty-four overs

This creates the prospect of the spinner competing in an Ashes match without being attached to a domestic team

The agreement at the domestic team expired at the end of the home summer

Likely Lineup

Still, an England team featuring Wood, Archer, Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - all of whom are able to achieve high speeds - remains the expected conclusion

The opening match commences at 02:20 GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, expert analysis and in-play highlights available

Playing Group

England squad for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (wk), Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Historical Context

While a various English Ashes victories at home and abroad have been constructed around fast bowling, they have never fielded as multiple quick bowlers in the identical lineup

The team that triumphed at domestically in the famous series of that year contained Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Illingworth's successful touring team to Australia in those years had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the England team that won in that period featured Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - potentially the most exciting Test series in modern times - the English team are aiming to overturn an difficult past - they have failed to win a five-day game in the host country since that year

Merely five individuals of the 16-man squad have played a Test in Australia, but the bowler says that could benefit the English team

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

"There have been a lot of players who have said they have had some tough times here in Australia

"Regarding our team, we are a very relaxed, very positive team

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to do something special"

Host Team Situation

The host team's practice session on this week was momentarily paused by the threat of lightning

The hosts are probably going to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with uncapped fast bowler Doggett also joining following injuries to captain Cummins and colleague Hazlewood