England captain Ben Stokes has delivered a rallying cry to his team ahead of the first Ashes Test in Perth, urging them not to be afraid of Australia despite the hosts’ intimidating record. The tourists have named a 12-man squad featuring four express pacers and spinner Shoaib Bashir, keeping their options open for Friday’s opener.​

“Look It in the Eyes” Stokes emphasized the importance of embracing the magnitude of the Ashes rather than downplaying it. “I think if we were to come out and sort of not accept that and go, ‘Oh nah, it’s just another series’, then we’d only be lying to ourselves and lying to the fact of what the series is,” he told Sky Sports.​

“Facing what that feels like, looking it in the eyes, taking it on and not being afraid of the challenge that we have ahead of us,” he added of his advice to the Ashes novices in the squad.​

Four-Pronged Pace Attack

England have selected four frontline fast bowlers for Perth—Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, and Brydon Carse—with Carse preferred over Josh Tongue. Off-spinner Bashir completes the 12-man squad, though he may miss out if England opt for an all-pace assault on Perth’s traditionally fast and bouncy wicket.​

Wood proved his fitness with a fiery spell in the nets on Tuesday after a hamstring scare last week, with selectors likely waiting until the last minute before making the final call on the XI.​

Pope Holds Off Bethell

Ollie Pope, as expected, retained his number three spot ahead of Jacob Bethell, giving England batting continuity despite calls for a shake-up. The top order will feature Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley as openers, followed by Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Stokes, and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.​

No Scars, Fresh Optimism

Only five players in England’s squad have experienced Ashes cricket in Australia—Wood, Root, Stokes, Pope, and Crawley. Rather than seeing this as a disadvantage, England believe their lack of baggage could prove beneficial.​

“So there are no scars for me. For some others, I wouldn’t speak for them, but history would say it’s probably a good thing,” said Atkinson, who is set to play his first Test Down Under.​

England have not won an Ashes series in Australia since 2010-11. Since then, they’ve lost 13 Tests and drawn two on Australian soil.​

Australia’s Injury Crisis

Australia enter the series on the backfoot with pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood both ruled out injured, leaving 100-Test veteran Mitchell Starc to shoulder major responsibility. He’ll be joined by Scott Boland and spin king Nathan Lyon, with seamer Brendan Doggett likely to make his debut ahead of Michael Neser.​

Steve Smith takes over as captain in Cummins’ absence, with Jake Weatherald potentially earning a Test debut at the top of the order.​

Speed vs Bounce

Perth Stadium head curator Isaac McDonald has predicted a typically fast and bouncy wicket, which would favor England unleashing their pace battery. England boast the fastest bowling attack they’ve brought to Australia this century, with all four seamers capable of touching 145 kph.​

“Jofra and Woody are amazing bowlers and they’ll be huge for us this series,” Atkinson said, adding he was happy to play a support role. “It’s been like that a bit throughout my career so far, sort of in the background, and I don’t mind at all”.​

Mitchell Starc’s Perspective

Australia’s veteran pacer isn’t convinced England’s unfamiliarity with Australian conditions will benefit them. “There’s probably a few guys with less experience playing in Australia, particularly the bowling attack. We know a lot of talk has been about how fast they’re bowling, and they’ve got five or six guys who can bowl quick. I’m not sure any of them have played a Test match in Australia—certainly at this ground anyway,” Starc said.​

With the series beginning Friday at 2:30 AM GMT (1:20 PM AEDT), England aim to end their 15-year Ashes drought in Australia behind Stokes’ fearless leadership and a pace attack that could prove devastating on Perth’s lively surface.​