Mark Wood has been declared fit and is in line to feature in the opening Ashes Test against Australia in Perth on Friday, as England named a 12-man squad on Wednesday. The visitors have kept their options open by including off-spinner Shoaib Bashir alongside five fast bowlers for the series opener.
England are considering an all-pace attack comprising four specialist quicks plus all-rounder Ben Stokes, a combination that could make it one of the fastest bowling units they have ever fielded in an Ashes Test in Australia. The final call is likely to be between off-spinner Bashir and seamer Brydon Carse.
Although the pitch at the Optus Stadium is expected to offer pace and bounce, prompting England to consider a full pace battery, the surface’s dryness has also brought Bashir into contention. At this venue, which has hosted only five Tests so far, Australia’s Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker with 29 scalps.
England have backed Bashir, 22, as their frontline spinner for more than a year. He became the youngest England bowler to claim 50 Test wickets in May but has not played a competitive match since taking the final wicket in England’s dramatic win over India in the third Test at Lord’s in July.
His preparations have been affected by a broken finger, and he struggled in the team’s lone warm-up against England Lions, returning combined figures of 2/151 from 24 overs.
Bashir’s selection would also see him play an Ashes Test without being contracted to a county, following the conclusion of his Somerset deal at the end of the summer. England’s likely attack features Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Stokes and Carse, all capable of touching 90mph.
England squad for the first Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir.