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The English side has kept their options open for the initial Ashes match by selecting spin bowler Shoaib Bashir in a squad of twelve alongside five seamers

Wood is declared fit and seems set to play facing the hosts in Perth on the coming Friday, with the final decision possibly involving off-spinner Bashir and pace bowler Brydon Carse

Ground Situation

Should England choose an all-pace attack - four main pacers plus all-rounder the captain - it would possibly be the most rapid assembly of bowlers they have used in an Ashes match in Australia

Earlier this week Western Australia wicket preparer the curator said to expect "pace and bounce" from the surface at the venue, and it appears probable the English will adhere to a established strategy of an pace-only strategy

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

Slow Bowling Factors

During the brief existence of Perth Stadium - five prior matches have been played here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the most successful bowler with 29

The English management have backed Shoaib, 22 years old, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in May he became the least experienced English bowler to achieve fifty wickets in Tests

But he has missed a official match since securing the last dismissal in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the third Test at the famous ground in recently

Recent Challenges

Bashir has been recovering from a broken finger and found it difficult in the single preparation match against the development squad, posting match figures of 2 for 151 from 24 overs

This presents the prospect of the spinner playing in an Ashes match without being affiliated with a county

His deal at the domestic team ended at the finish of the English season

Expected Selection

Still, an visiting team containing Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, leader Stokes and Brydon Carse - every one of them are likely to hit 90mph - continues to be the expected conclusion

The initial game starts at early morning GMT on the weekend, with live text coverage, specialist radio coverage and in-play highlights accessible

Team Selection

England squad for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (leader), Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

While a several successful Ashes campaigns at in England and overseas have been built on pace, they have not previously selected as many express pace bowlers in the identical lineup

The side that triumphed at home in the memorable competition of that year included Steve Harmison, Jones and Flintoff

The captain's successful touring team to the host nation in those years had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the England team that won in that period included Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in recent years - the English team are hoping to change an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test in Australia since 2011

Only five members of the sixteen-player group have played a Test match in the host nation, but Atkinson says that could help the visitors

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

"There are a many cricketers who have said they have had some tough times in this country

"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, extremely confident squad

"No negative experiences

"It's very exciting

"The entire team views it as a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"

Host Team Situation

The Australian practice session on Wednesday was temporarily interrupted by the possibility of bad weather

The hosts are expected to provide an opportunity to opener Weatherald, with uncapped seamer Brendan Doggett also joining due to injuries to captain Pat Cummins and teammate Josh Hazlewood