England have hedged their bets two days out from the start of the Ashes by naming a 12-man squad for the first Test, with Shoaib Bashir a surprise inclusion.
The 22-year-old’s addition suggests the tourists will wait until morning of the first Test before deciding whether conditions at Perth Stadium would suit four seamers or the addition of a spin bowler.
Jofra Archer and Mark Wood are both in the 12-man selection, indicating that there are no doubts about either pace bowler’s fitness. Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse complete the bowling group, with the latter most likely to miss out should Bashir make the starting XI.
Brendon McCullum, the England coach, had been expected to opt for an all-seam attack on a ground that has hosted five previous Tests – two against India and one against each of New Zealand, Pakistan and the West Indies – in which 134 wickets have fallen to pace bowling and only 40 to spin.
Of those 40 wickets, Australia’s Nathan Lyon has been responsible for 29 and all visiting spinners combined only eight. On a ground known for its pace and bounce – and whose curator, Isaac McDonald, pledged on Wednesday that those characteristics are “a mainstay and not going to change” – a team loaded with seamers remains the more likely decision.
There had been speculation that Will Jacks could be parachuted into the team to provide some spin while also bolstering the lower order, but McCullum has opted to keep faith with Bashir, having said earlier this year that he would be his first-choice spinner for the Ashes.
In July Lyon described Bashir as “OK”, saying that “in my eyes, Jack Leach is still England’s best spinner”. “It is a massive role, and it can be a massive challenge for people who haven’t done it in the past in these conditions,” Lyon said of spin bowling in Australian Tests. “I’m not going to let my secrets out so they come out and perform well out here.”
England 12-man squad for first Ashes Test: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Mark Wood.
