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The tourists have maintained flexibility for the series opener by selecting spin bowler Bashir in a 12-man squad together with five seamers

Wood has recovered and appears likely to feature versus the Aussies in Perth on the weekend, with the last selection possibly involving off-spinner Bashir and pace bowler Brydon Carse

Pitch Conditions

If the visitors select an all-pace attack - four dedicated bowlers plus multi-skilled player Ben Stokes - it would possibly be the fastest group of seamers they have fielded in an Ashes match in this country

On Wednesday local wicket preparer Isaac McDonald said to anticipate "speed and bounce" from the surface at the stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will adhere to a traditional approach of an fast bowling focus

But the tourists have also spotted a arid quality to the wicket, placing the spinner into the running

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of this venue - five previous Tests have been staged here - Australian off-spinner Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The English management have backed Bashir, 22, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in May he was recognized as the least experienced English bowler to attain 50 wickets in international Tests

However he has not played a first-class game after taking the last dismissal in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the third Test at Lord's in summer

Recent Challenges

He has been out with a finger injury and struggled in the sole practice game against the Lions, posting combined figures of 2 for 151 from 24 overs

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

His contract at the domestic team expired at the end of the home summer

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an English side featuring Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Carse - every one of them are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - remains the probable result

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Team Selection

Team lineup for series opener: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (leader), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer, Bashir

Team Background

Although a number of English Ashes victories at domestically and internationally have been built on pace, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the identical lineup

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

Illingworth's triumphant visitors to the host nation in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the English side that won in that period included Brian Statham and Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in modern times - the visitors are hoping to reverse an poor history - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since 2011

Just five players of the extended squad have participated in a Test match in Australia, but Atkinson says that could benefit the English team

"It could be an advantage," he mentioned to reporters

"We've seen a many cricketers who have stated they have had some tough times down under

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

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

"Everyone considers it a huge opportunity to create history"

Host Team Situation

Australia's practice session on recently was momentarily paused by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are expected to give a debut to opener Jack Weatherald, with yet to debut fast bowler Doggett also joining following injuries to captain Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood