Ashes Third Test, Headingley

Australia lead the series 1-0 after winning the first Test at Edgbaston and drawing at Lord's.

The Aussies will be without former captain and the best batsman in the world after Steve Smith was ruled out with concussion following a Jofra Archer bouncer that struck him on the neck in his first innings at Lord's.

Marnus Labuschagne is expected to fill Smith's spot like he did at Lord's when he entered the fray as Test cricket's first ever concussion substitute where he scored an admirable 59 runs, helping to steer Australia to a draw on the final day.

It's expected that Peter Siddle will drop out of the side to allow for the return of James Pattinson who was rested for the second Test. Mitchell Starc seems destined to remain on drinks duty.

England meanwhile are expected to name an unchanged 11 although they may tinker with the make up of the batting order. Joe Root has struggled at first drop, while Jason Roy has failed to make the switch from opening in the ODI team to becoming a Test opener. Root is expected to move down to four with Joe Denly jumping into the number three position.

Many are talking about the effect of Jofra Archer's entry into Test cricket. Interestingly, his debut performance lands him as just the 312th best bowler on debut with overall figures of 5/91. He need only look across at his opponents in Pat Cummins (7/117) and Josh Hazlewood (7/142) who had better debut figures.

The Headingley pitch is rumoured to be a slow deck that will crumble and break up towards the end of the match. An interesting decision by the ground staff there given Australia's Nathan Lyon has been collecting wickets for fun and spun the English into knots in the first Test.

As always the toss will be important and Tim Paine will be hoping his luck continues. This will likely be a bat first pitch because no one will be looking to bat last on a decaying deck.

Play starts at 8pm AEST tonight so get your picture-in-picture going or set up a second screen to make sure you don't miss the first ball while watching the Eels belt the Dogs.

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Adam Magrath replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Lot of luck involved in an nrl season.
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Joel K replied to Steel be with you's discussion The Parramatta Eels vs Melbourne Storm Rivalry
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"I'm closing the blog due to some cheap shots.
Next time, I will start nuking them without any further warning."
8 hours ago
Randy Handlinger replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Metcalf Dragons bound.
"I say these things as someone who has scapegoated themselves for the greater good and I am glad I did"
8 hours ago
Randy Handlinger replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Metcalf Dragons bound.
"So let's tread water 'till someone fucks up so badly that it no longer qualifies as scapegoating to move them on."
8 hours ago
Randy Handlinger replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Metcalf Dragons bound.
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8 hours ago
Michael W. replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Metcalf Dragons bound.
"KK and Galvin had NOTHING to do with MON. Galvin had already agreed to go to the Dogs well before he spoke to us. KK was after the money and years, I would have been pissed off if we matched Saints offer, KK is not a million dollar player."
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"The cloud dissipates but the stinky nuggets remain and flourish
 "
8 hours ago
Randy Handlinger replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Metcalf Dragons bound.
"Ok..so let's play pretendsy's that sometimes a head from head-office just need's to roll. And that now is that time...the bloods in the water and the buses are circling...who get's thrown under 'em??Explain to me the deep institutional knowledge &…"
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Prof. Daz replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Metcalf Dragons bound.
"Lemon haze might be cloudy but it dissipates when you prod it. Just like scapegoating arguments. "
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Mallee57 replied to Angry Eel's discussion Herbie
"He wouldn't be able to play if you did that."
9 hours ago
Prof. Daz replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Metcalf Dragons bound.
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