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The England and Wales Cricket Board have named a 12-member squad for the high-voltage Ashes opener against Australia at Optus Stadium in Perth from Friday.
The 12-member squad features speedster Mark Wood and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir while veteran all-rounder Ben Stokes will captain the Three Lions, with star batter Harry Brook being named as vice-captain. Mark Wood, who earlier suffered a tight hamstring during a warm-up match with the England Lions last week, is deemed fit for the opening Test at Perth. The right-arm fast bowler is expected to make it in the final XI of the Three Lions as the visitors are giving chances to decide whether they should go all-in with seamers or not. Earlier, Wood bowled 40 minutes at the nets at Perth during Tuesday's training session. With the ace speedster included in the 12-member squad, Wood would be one of the five players who will have previous Test experience in Australia alongside Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes. Shoaib Bashir, who has been out of action due to a finger injury sustained during the five-match Test series against India at home earlier this year, could be an X factor if he is included in the final XI. Bashir, who has a high release and knack for overspin, could help him get purchase from Australian pitches that could help England in this Ashes. However, the 22-year-old Shoaib Bashir struggled with the ball during a match between England and the Lions, where he bowled in three of the four innings and returned figures of 2/151 from 24 overs. England squad for First Test: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Mark Wood. (ANI)
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