England name Bashir in squad for Ashes opener

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Stephan Shemilt

Perth Stadium’s Chief Cricket Reporter

ago, one hour ago

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By naming off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in a 12-man squad along with five pace bowlers, England kept their options open for the first Ashes Test.

Mark Wood has been assessed for fitness and appears to be playing against Australia on Friday in Perth. Bashir’s choice will likely be decided between the seamer Brydon Carse and the off-spinner.

The fastest bowling group they have ever fielded in an Ashes Test in this country would be if England chose an all-pace attack that included four specialists and all-rounder Ben Stokes.

It appears likely that England will stick to a long-standing strategy of an exclusively pace attack, as predicted by Western Australia pitch curator Isaac McDonald on Wednesday when he predicted “pace and bounce” from the surface at Perth Stadium.

Australia’s off-spinner Nathan Lyon leads the wicket-taker with 29 in the short history of this venue, which has hosted five previous Tests.

Bashir, 22, has been England’s first-choice spinner for more than a year, and he became the youngest Test bowler to take 50 wickets in a row in May.

Since taking the final wicket in the dramatic victory over India in the third Test at Lord’s in July, he has not played a competitive game.

In England’s only warm-up match against the England Lions, Bashir struggled and returned combined numbers of 2-151 from 24 overs despite having broken his finger.

Additionally, Bashir’s potential participation in an Ashes Test without being a member of a nation raises. At the conclusion of the summer, his Somerset contract came to an end.

The most likely scenario is still Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, captain Stokes, and Carse, all of whom are capable of reaching 90 mph.

Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, and Shoaib Bashir are England’s starting Ashes Test squad.

Although England has won the Ashes twice at home and abroad with pace, they have never had the same number of express pace bowlers play for the same team.

Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, and Andrew Flintoff made up the popular series of 2005’s home side.

Bob Willis, Peter Lever, and John Snow made up Raymond Illingworth’s formidable Australian team that won in 1954-55, which included Brian Statham and Frank “Typhoon” Tyson.

Due to a short-bowling strategy intended to stifle the great Don Bradman, England’s most well-known Australian tour, the 1932-33 Bodyline series, sparked diplomatic tensions between the two nations.

England are looking to bounce back from a terrible record that hasn’t been won in Australia since 2011 in one of the most eagerly awaited Ashes series ever.

Atkinson says that the 16-man squad’s only five Test appearances in Australia might benefit England.

He told BBC Sport, “It could be advantageous.” Many players have claimed that Australia has been through some difficult times.

We are a very relaxed, optimistic group, in our opinion. No affliction It’s very exciting. We all perceive it as a fantastic opportunity to do something special.

The threat of lightning briefly slowed Australia’s net session on Wednesday.