England announced their XII for the first Ashes Test against Australia, starting in Perth on Friday. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was included in the players’ list, as was Mark Wood, who has cleared a fitness test and will most likely feature in the playing XI.

The 22-year-old’s inclusion could also be because of Nathan Lyon’s track record at the Perth Stadium, where he is the leading wicket-taker with 29 scalps. Bashir has not played for England since the third Test match against India at Lord’s in July.

Perth Stadium curator Issac McDonald said on Wednesday that there was no directive from anybody regarding the type of pitch they would like to play on for the series opener.

“Absolutely no directives from anyone ever, which has been the case in cricket for a long time and I’m gonna say fo

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