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The tourists have left decisions open for the series opener by selecting spin bowler the young spinner in a twelve-player team alongside five fast bowlers

Wood has been passed fit and appears likely to feature facing the hosts in Perth on the weekend, with the ultimate choice likely involving the young spinner and pace bowler Carse

Pitch Conditions

Should England choose an fast bowling unit - four specialists combined with multi-skilled player Stokes - it would possibly be the most rapid assembly of seamers they have used in an Ashes match in this country

Earlier this week WA groundsman the curator stated to look for "pace and bounce" from the pitch at the stadium, and it appears probable the English will stick to a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack

However the English team have also noted a arid quality to the wicket, putting the off-spinner into contention

Spinning Options

Throughout the limited timeframe of the ground - five earlier Tests have been played here - Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29 dismissals

The English management have backed the young spinner, 22, as their first-choice spinner for since last year and in May he became the youngest England bowler to reach fifty wickets in Test matches

Yet he has not played a official match since claiming the final wicket in a thrilling win over the Indian team in the final Test at the famous ground in recently

Recent Issues

The spinner has been recovering from a hand problem and had challenges in the sole practice game against England Lions, returning match figures of two wickets for 151 runs from his bowling spell

This creates the prospect of the spinner competing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a county

His deal at his county ended at the end of the home summer

Expected Selection

Nevertheless, an visiting team featuring Wood, Jofra Archer, Atkinson, leader Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are capable of reaching 90mph - continues to be the probable result

The opening match begins at 02:20 GMT on the weekend, with instant commentary, specialist radio coverage and live action clips provided

Playing Group

Selected players for first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Carse, Wood, Archer, Shoaib Bashir

Historical Context

Even though a various England Ashes triumphs at domestically and internationally have been founded on quick bowling, they have not previously selected as multiple quick bowlers in the equivalent side

The lineup that succeeded at home in the celebrated contest of 2005 Ashes included Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff

Raymond Illingworth's winning English side to the host nation in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and Snow, and the visiting team that won in those seasons featured Brian Statham and Tyson

Modern Context

This time around - among the most highly anticipated England-Australia contests in modern times - the English team are aiming to reverse an awful record - they have not won a Test match in Australia since over a decade ago

Just five players of the 16-man squad have played a international Test in the host nation, but the bowler says that could help the visitors

"This might be an positive," he mentioned to media outlets

"There have been a numerous athletes who have said they have had challenging periods in this country

"Regarding our team, we are a very relaxed, very positive group

"No negative experiences

"It's exhilarating

"We all see it as a huge opportunity to do something special"

Host Team Situation

The Australian net session on this week was briefly delayed by the possibility of bad weather

The home side are expected to hand a first cap to batsman Weatherald, with yet to debut fast bowler Brendan Doggett also joining following injuries to captain Cummins and colleague Josh Hazlewood