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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Seraph replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"Yet you know all and didnt even read my comment properly
my comment was in response to your point. If one or two key defensive players being out means the team is buggered, the problems are deeper than just the surface
but its ok, you keep trying to…"
6 seconds ago
LB replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"I'm saying he is saying people who say sack Ryles are morons yet he did it himself 12 months ago. I'm calling it out.
I agree you shouldn't be saying he should be sacked but maybe not call people moron's for something you have done yourself."
2 minutes ago
Poppa replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"I bought an adjustable bubble float today Fishy, they any good?"
4 minutes ago
macybrown replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Game Day Blog R6 v Titans: Call House
"So how aren't all those huge overall defensive issues as you've rightly mentioned (they have sadly also been same issues for the whole year), not part of a coaching staff issue? Hate to say it as I really like and feel for Ryles but our defence from…"
5 minutes ago
The Captain replied to Angry Eel's discussion Something Wrong with NRL
"After every try we get an advertising break on TV. VLandys has made no secret of the fact that he is here to make money for the NRL on TV rights.
More ads, more income, better commercial product.
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6 minutes ago
fishbulb replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"It"s a beautiful river"
7 minutes ago
Poppa replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"Wrong context Dipstick....... you know nothing"
8 minutes ago
mongolian trotting duck replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill's Sack !'s discussion Sarantinos and Mark O'neill must be shown the door now
"madge was a storm assistant coach and has won 2 comps"
10 minutes ago
Parrafan101 replied to Angry Eel's discussion Something Wrong with NRL
"The rules last year was better, this year it feels like 2020 all over again"
11 minutes ago
Avon Barksdale replied to Angry Eel's discussion Something Wrong with NRL
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13 minutes ago
Michael W. replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"Simon LB, to reference something Poppa said 12mths ago is a bit over the top. Anyone with half a brain could see what was going to happen today. On top of the players out injured, we had Penisini come back 2wks early to help them out, JAC and Moses…"
15 minutes ago
ParramAddict replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"I'm not reading all that, but I don't care who we had missing, getting 52 points against us is never acceptable, especially to a club like the Titans "
15 minutes ago
RV replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"Well said. "
15 minutes ago
RV replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"Poppa the pontificator, pontificating for years and where has it got anyone ? "
17 minutes ago
Eli Stephens replied to Poppa's discussion Defending the Undefendable... this game should not have been a surprise....Look what we had!
"With how badly injured this team is, they need to play near perfect footy just to be in games. Defensively they have to be great and passes have to stick. Today everything went wrong and they got belted basically. Lot of fringe nrl players on the…"
20 minutes ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Snottie Pimpin's discussion Will Penisni
"Penisini career has mirrored that of the team in his initial years as you mention there was plenty of promise but he hasn't kicked on much like the team id suggest that's the real problem here because we have no depth or development there's no one…"
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