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The English side has maintained flexibility for the first Ashes Test by selecting off-spinner the young spinner in a twelve-player team alongside five pace bowlers

The fast bowler has been passed fit and seems set to play against Australia in Western Australia on Friday, with the final decision likely involving the young spinner and seamer Brydon Carse

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an pace-only bowling lineup - four main pacers plus multi-skilled player Ben Stokes - it would potentially be the most rapid assembly of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes match in this country

Recently Western Australia wicket preparer McDonald said to anticipate "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it seems likely the tourists will follow a traditional approach of an exclusively pace attack

But the English team have also observed a dryness to the wicket, placing the spinner into contention

Spin Considerations

In the short history of Perth Stadium - five earlier Tests have been hosted here - Australia off-spinner the experienced spinner is the top wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

England have supported the young spinner, 22, as their main slow bowler for more than a year and in May he became the youngest England bowler to attain half-century of wickets in Test matches

But he has missed a official match since securing the concluding scalp in a dramatic victory over the Indian team in the third match at Lord's in summer

Recent Challenges

He has been recovering from a broken finger and had challenges in the single preparation match against the Lions, returning combined figures of 2 for 151 from twenty-four overs

This creates the scenario of the spinner playing in an Ashes Test without being contracted with a county

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

Likely Lineup

Nevertheless, an visiting team containing Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Brydon Carse - all of whom are likely to hit 90 miles per hour - stays the most likely outcome

The initial game commences at 2:20 AM GMT on Friday, with real-time updates, expert analysis and real-time features accessible

Team Selection

Selected players for initial Ashes match: Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Brook, Ben Stokes (skipper), Jamie Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Archer, Bashir

Past Experience

While a several England Ashes triumphs at in England and overseas have been constructed around fast bowling, they have not previously used as many express pace bowlers in the same team

The lineup that succeeded at domestically in the famous series of that year featured Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

The captain's winning English side to Australia in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Lever and Snow, and the English side that succeeded in those seasons included Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

On this occasion - one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series in modern times - the English team are looking to overturn an difficult past - they have been unable to secure a Test in the host country since that year

Merely five individuals of the sixteen-player group have played a Test in the host nation, but the bowler comments that could help the visitors

"It could be an advantage," he explained to media outlets

"We've seen a many cricketers who have mentioned they have had difficult experiences in this country

"For us, we are a very relaxed, highly optimistic group

"No bad memories

"It's thrilling

"Everyone considers it a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"

Australian Preparations

The host team's practice session on Wednesday was temporarily interrupted by the risk of storms

The home side are probably going to provide an opportunity to opener Weatherald, with new fast bowler Doggett also coming in following fitness concerns to captain Cummins and fellow seamer Hazlewood