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.

You need to be a member of 1Eyed Eel to add comments!

Join 1Eyed Eel

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Latest comments

Randy Handlinger replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"Yep. That's me...Poppas Pussywhipped partner
Fucking. Idiot
 "
4 seconds ago
Nightmare Off-Season replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"Cap, that nails it, and its unfortunate because like you, I see the attitude & effort as positives (as Ryles does), but it only gets you so far.
But, don't sell yourself short... You'd get Usain in an ultra."
3 minutes ago
EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Iongi playing in NSW Cup today - some positive news
"I feel like I am watching a replay of the eels and storm game. Both teams can't stop dropping their ball. The attack looks pedestrian "
6 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Iongi playing in NSW Cup today - some positive news
"What time is the game on?"
9 minutes ago
Trent replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Iongi playing in NSW Cup today - some positive news
"What other team in the comp plays there star players in cup instead of a must win game"
16 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"Definitely Volkmann's worst game. Maybe he's thinking of taking up potential offers elsewhere. He definitely wasn't 100%. The play the ball was like 'Slow Motion' but the Storm were the opposite"
18 minutes ago
Parra_Greg replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"if you look closely Parrafan101 it s the knock off brand Adddidas with four Ds.....not the German mutlinational corporation."
30 minutes ago
Parra_Greg replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"cmon Chiefy...Im trying to be good hahahaha dont get me started again"
34 minutes ago
LB replied to Hell On Eels's discussion R11 Game Day Blog, Magic Round v Storm: Trauma and Redemption (L34-8)
"Sorry Captain, but again it seems to be misunderstood what I'm saying. I'm not saying Moa should be sacked, I'm saying I wonder if he will be as our defence is so bad.
As for my call on Ryles, it is not he has til then end of the year or he is…"
36 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Kurupt - Your Mums Favourite Thug's discussion Ryles Is Letting Us Down With His Trash Selections
"Well good for you 😂 You must be so proud of yourself. I thought you don't respond to truthful comments too well. Guess what? I was right"
39 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"Ah the good old 'back up' Posse trailblazing not far behind the Lone Ranger Poppy😂 The 2 peas in the Pod. "
49 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"What part of you clearly have 'A foul mouth problem' don't you understand🤣! Ah, Bourbon Man really 🤣 not in same category like 'Snake', Fong, MontoEel, and Brett whom were always on the receiving end of your 'pleasantries' and of course your 'back…"
53 minutes ago
Parra_Greg replied to Kurupt - Your Mums Favourite Thug's discussion Ryles Is Letting Us Down With His Trash Selections
"our first tackle defence and on kick returns was abissmal the arm grabbing and gaps so bad"
54 minutes ago
LB replied to Kurupt - Your Mums Favourite Thug's discussion Ryles Is Letting Us Down With His Trash Selections
"Big issue we have is metres. Papali'i on the wing makes it worse to be fair.
But overall yeah the rest I agree with."
59 minutes ago
The Captain replied to Hell On Eels's discussion R11 Game Day Blog, Magic Round v Storm: Trauma and Redemption (L34-8)
"Realistically you've got to take tenure into account though LB. Sam has been here a season and a bit, it's simply not enough time to judge his performance. Same with Ryles. 
The longer the tenure, the more data points you have, the more you can be…"
1 hour ago
Mallee57 replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Iongi playing in NSW Cup today - some positive news
"A bit of good news never goes astray. "
1 hour ago
More…

Keaon done deal

As of Thursday, December 11, 2025, South Sydney Rabbitohs forwardKeaon Koloamatangi has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Parramatta Eels, but it is not yet officially announced by the clubs.  Soon to be announced.

Read more…
14 Replies · Reply by Poppa Jan 9
Views: 2429

 

Game Stats tell the story

Possession was Storm 52-48All runs Storm 176-155Metres Gained Storm 1680 - 1164Tackles Busted Storm 43-18Post Contact Metres 493-376Tackles Made Eels 277-271Missed Tackles Eels 43-18essentially we are as soft as butter with and without the ball.

Read more…
2 Replies · Reply by Jman 5 hours ago
Views: 239

Same

Nothing new. Step and repeat. Copy and paste. Year after year.  Same results. Same demolition. Same small hope Same lost hope. Same press conferences.Same blog posts. Sam's conversations.Same taking about the same.  

Read more…
8 Replies · Reply by christeel 2 hours ago
Views: 249

<script src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<!-- Sidebar -->
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<script>// <![CDATA[
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
// ]]></script>