England Test captain Ben Stokes confirmed they will not finalise their starting lineup for the Ashes opener, until they have a final look at the pitch ahead of the toss.

England usually announce their starting lineup for a Test well ahead of the first session, but opted to only announce a 12-man squad this time around.

Stokes' side are undefeated in their last three men's Tests against Australia, after losing six of their previous seven meetings.

However, the Baggy Greens have won their last eight consecutive men's Tests against England in Western Australia, and their only loss in 14 such Tests was in December 1978 (by 166 runs).

Yet, this will be the first time that these teams meet at Perth Stadium.

One of the final choices Stokes will have to make will be around the selection of spinner Shoaib Bashir, who last featured in the third Test of their series against India before suffering a finger injury.

The England skipper insisted every single player will have a job to do if selected.

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"Team sport takes all 11 [players] to influence a game at some point," Stokes said. "All 11 guys who get the honour of being selected in the next five games will be just as important as each other.

"He [Bashir] was always going to be in the 12-man [squad]. Seeing the way the game at Lilac Hill went, it felt like we could just get him as many opportunities to bowl as possible."

There were also further concerns around Mark Wood after he bowled just eight overs in their warm-up game following reports of hamstring soreness, but Stokes backed the fast bowler to be ready if called upon.

"He's [Wood] flying," the skipper added. "I know you guys say he only bowled eight overs in the game, but he's been bowling for a long, long time.

"He has always been someone who can just hit the ground running in a game, and he's bowling rapid."