Ashes: Shoaib Bashir and Matthew Potts have been named in England’s XII for the final Test

England have named off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in their 12-man squad for the fifth Ashes Test against Australia in Sydney.

Bashir did not play in the first four matches despite starting the series as England’s number one.

The 22-year-old missed the first Test after being selected in Perth’s 12-man squad, and has since been overlooked in favor of all-rounder Will Jacks.

Seamer Matthew Potts is also in the England XII, with the tourists guaranteed to make at least one change from the side that won the fourth Test in Melbourne after Gus Atkinson was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, England usually name their XI two days after the Test.

However, the tourists chose to wait longer before the final, which begins on Sunday (23:30 GMT Saturday), in order to assess conditions at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

On Thursday, the field appeared to be covered in a thick blanket of grass, but it began to lose its green tinge by Friday.

Sydney usually provides assistance to slow bowlers. Three of the four leading Test wicket-takers at the venue are Australian spinners – Shane Warne, Stuart McGill and Nathan Lyon.

But this Ashes was dominated by seam bowling. So far only nine wickets have been taken by spinners, leaving them on track for the fewest taken by slow bowlers in an Ashes series of at least four Tests.

Australia omitted the spinner from their squad for the fourth Test, which England won by four wickets in Melbourne to reduce the series deficit to 3-1.

Now the hosts could include Todd Murphy, while all-rounder Beau Webster could replace Cameron Green and also offer a spin option.