He has secured 68 scalps at an mean of 39 across 19 five-day games
The tourists have kept their options open for the first Ashes Test by selecting slow bowler the young spinner in a squad of twelve combined with five pace bowlers
The fast bowler has recovered and appears likely to feature against Australia in Perth Stadium on the coming Friday, with the final decision possibly coming down to the young spinner and seamer Carse
Pitch Conditions
Should England choose an all-pace attack - four specialists combined with all-rounder Stokes - it would arguably be the fastest group of pacemen they have deployed in an Ashes Test in this country
On Wednesday WA pitch curator McDonald stated to look for "speed and bounce" from the wicket at the venue, and it appears probable England will follow a long-standing plan of an exclusively pace attack
But the visitors have also spotted a dryness to the wicket, placing the spinner into consideration
Slow Bowling Factors
In the short history of the ground - five previous Tests have been played here - Australian off-spinner the experienced spinner is the most successful bowler with 29 dismissals
England have favored Bashir, twenty-two, as their main slow bowler for over twelve months and in spring he achieved the most youthful English bowler to reach fifty wickets in Test matches
Yet he has not played a competitive game since securing the last dismissal in a thrilling win over India in the third Test at the famous ground in July
Recent Challenges
Bashir has been suffering from a broken finger and had challenges in England's only warm-up match against England Lions, returning overall statistics of 2 for 151 from his bowling spell
It also raises the possibility of Bashir competing in an Test against Australia without being affiliated with a county
His contract at the domestic team concluded at the finish of the English season
Probable Team
Nevertheless, an English side featuring Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, skipper Stokes and Brydon Carse - each of whom are likely to hit high speeds - remains the expected conclusion
The initial game begins at early morning GMT on the weekend, with real-time updates, Test Match Special commentary and real-time features available
England Squad
Team lineup for series opener: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Root, Harry Brook, Stokes (skipper), Smith (gloveman), Atkinson, Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir
Team Background
While a various England Ashes triumphs at domestically and internationally have been constructed around fast bowling, they have never fielded as many express pace bowlers in the equivalent side
The lineup that succeeded at in England in the famous series of that year included Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Flintoff
Raymond Illingworth's triumphant visitors to the host nation in 1970-71 had Bob Willis, Peter Lever and John Snow, and the visiting team that succeeded in 1954-55 included Statham and Tyson
Present Circumstances
On this occasion - among the most highly anticipated Test series in recent memory - the visitors are hoping to overturn an difficult past - they have not won a Test match in the host country since 2011
Merely five individuals of the 16-man squad have played a Test match in the host nation, but Atkinson comments that could benefit the English team
"This might be an benefit," he told the press
"There have been a numerous athletes who have stated they have had challenging periods here in Australia
"Regarding our team, we are a extremely composed, highly optimistic squad
"No scarring
"It's thrilling
"Everyone considers it a huge opportunity to achieve something remarkable"
Australian Preparations
The host team's practice session on recently was momentarily paused by the risk of storms
The home side are probably going to give a debut to opener Weatherald, with new fast bowler Brendan Doggett also being included following fitness concerns to skipper Cummins and colleague Hazlewood
