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The tourists have left decisions open for the series opener by including slow bowler the young spinner in a twelve-player team combined with five pace bowlers

Mark Wood has been passed fit and is expected to participate against Australia in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the ultimate choice likely between the young spinner and pace bowler Brydon Carse

Wicket Factors

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four specialists along with multi-skilled player the captain - it would potentially be the quickest collection of bowlers they have deployed in an Ashes Test in the host nation

Earlier this week Western Australia pitch curator McDonald commented to expect "pace and bounce" from the wicket at Perth Stadium, and it looks possible the English will stick to a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

But the English team have also observed a lack of moisture to the surface, bringing the spinner into the running

Spinning Options

During the brief existence of the ground - five prior matches have been staged here - Australian spin bowler Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The team have favored the young spinner, 22 years old, as their primary spin option for over twelve months and in recent months he became the youngest England bowler to achieve 50 wickets in international Tests

But he has not played a first-class game after taking the last dismissal in a exciting triumph over India in the final Test at the famous ground in recently

Current Concerns

He has been recovering from a finger injury and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against the Lions, recording overall statistics of 2-151 from twenty-four overs

This creates the scenario of him participating in an Ashes Test without being affiliated with a first-class side

The agreement at the domestic team concluded at the finish of the English season

Probable Team

Nevertheless, an English side featuring Mark Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are capable of reaching high speeds - stays the expected conclusion

The first Test starts at early morning GMT on Friday, with live text coverage, expert analysis and live action clips available

England Squad

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

Team Background

While a number of England Ashes triumphs at home and abroad have been built on pace, they have not previously selected as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side

The side that won at home in the memorable competition of 2005 included Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff

The captain's triumphant visitors to Australia in 1970-71 had Willis, Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that succeeded in those seasons contained Statham and Tyson

Present Circumstances

This time around - among the most highly anticipated Ashes series in recent years - England are looking to reverse an awful record - they have been unable to secure a Test match in the host country since over a decade ago

Just five players of the sixteen-player group have participated in a international Test in Australia, but Atkinson comments that could benefit the English team

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

"There are a many cricketers who have stated they have had challenging periods in this country

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

"No bad memories

"It's exhilarating

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

Australian Preparations

The Australian net session on this week was briefly delayed by the threat of lightning

The hosts are expected to give a debut to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut seamer Brendan Doggett also coming in following injuries to skipper Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood