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England have kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by including slow bowler Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad combined with five seamers

Wood has been passed fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Western Australia on the weekend, with the last selection likely between the young spinner and pace bowler Carse

Pitch Conditions

If England opt for an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers along with multi-skilled player Ben Stokes - it would arguably be the fastest group of seamers they have fielded in an Ashes Test in the host nation

Recently local groundsman Isaac McDonald commented to look for "pace and bounce" from the surface at Perth Stadium, and it appears probable England will follow a traditional approach of an pace-only strategy

Yet the visitors have also spotted a lack of moisture to the wicket, placing the spinner into the running

Spin Considerations

In the short history of this venue - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the most successful bowler with twenty-nine

The English management have favored Bashir, 22, as their first-choice spinner for more than a year and in spring he became the youngest England bowler to attain half-century of wickets in international Tests

However he has not played a official match after securing the last dismissal in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in summer

Recent Challenges

The spinner has been out with a finger injury and found it difficult in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, posting combined figures of 2-151 from twenty-four overs

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

His deal at the domestic team expired at the conclusion of the domestic season

Likely Lineup

Still, an English side including Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, leader Stokes and Carse - all of whom are able to achieve high speeds - continues to be the probable result

The first Test begins at 2:20 AM GMT on Friday, with instant commentary, expert analysis and in-play highlights provided

England Squad

England squad for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (skipper), Smith (wk), Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Although a various England Ashes triumphs at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the identical lineup

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

Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in those years had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that triumphed in those seasons included Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Present Circumstances

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent years - the English team are aiming to reverse an poor history - they have been unable to secure a five-day game in Australia since over a decade ago

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

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

"There have been a many cricketers who have said they have had difficult experiences down under

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

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

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

Host Team Situation

The Australian net session on this week was temporarily interrupted by the threat of lightning

The hosts are expected to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut pace bowler Doggett also being included due to injuries to skipper Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood