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The English side has kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by selecting off-spinner the young spinner in a twelve-player team alongside five seamers

The fast bowler has been passed fit and appears likely to feature against Australia in Perth Stadium on Friday, with the final decision probably involving the young spinner and pace bowler Carse

Wicket Factors

If England opt for an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers along with all-rounder Stokes - it would potentially be the most rapid assembly of bowlers they have fielded in an Ashes match in Australia

Recently local groundsman Isaac McDonald stated to look for "speed and bounce" from the wicket at the venue, and it seems likely the tourists will follow a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

However the English team have also noted a lack of moisture to the wicket, bringing the spinner into consideration

Slow Bowling Factors

Throughout the limited timeframe of Perth Stadium - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australia off-spinner the experienced spinner is the top wicket-taker with 29

The team have favored Shoaib, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for more than a year and in spring he became the least experienced English bowler to reach half-century of wickets in Test matches

However he has been absent from a first-class game since claiming the final wicket in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in summer

Current Concerns

The spinner has been recovering from a finger injury and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against the development squad, recording match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from twenty-four overs

This presents the possibility of the spinner participating in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a domestic team

His contract at Somerset expired at the finish of the English season

Likely Lineup

Still, an English side including Mark Wood, Archer, Atkinson, captain Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are capable of reaching high speeds - remains the probable result

The opening match starts at 2:20 AM GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, expert analysis and real-time features available

Playing Group

England squad for series opener: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (leader), Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

Even though a several England Ashes triumphs 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 side that succeeded at in England in the famous series of 2005 contained Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's triumphant visitors to Australia in 1970-71 had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that succeeded in that period contained Statham and Tyson

Current Situation

In this instance - potentially the most exciting Ashes series in recent years - England are looking to change an poor history - they have not won a Test match in the host country since 2011

Only five members of the extended squad have experienced a Test in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could benefit the English team

"This could represent an positive," he mentioned to reporters

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

"In our case, we are a very relaxed, very positive group

"No scarring

"It's thrilling

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

Host Team Situation

The Australian practice session on this week was momentarily paused by the threat of lightning

The hosts are expected to hand a first cap to opener Weatherald, with new fast bowler Doggett also joining due to injuries to captain Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood