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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Joel K replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Signing predictions !
"Enari Tuala, Wilson De Courcey and Ata Mariota
We are definitely in for Burton, I got it confirmed by a source directly within the club, but I feel like he will re-sign with the Dogs"
7 minutes ago
tyler replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Signing predictions !
"I hope and pray that it's Farnworth but unlikely"
22 minutes ago
Alfred Mateo replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Signing predictions !
"Rocco Berry"
37 minutes ago
Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Signing predictions !
"Ill go with 
Burton 
Milky Jenkins "
1 hour ago
Darren Munro replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"What would you pay for fish ? There was a big bopper for saints similar to underhill. Look good of that 1 game. We need a fui."
1 hour ago
Darren Munro replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"No way just a plodder. Saints needs this type of forwards. Tonga moves like a giraffe with broken legs."
1 hour ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"So if we can't attract top tier talent what else is there but to over pay or wait until,an opportunity presents itself which is shrinking by the day with another 2 teams in the mix.
Do we have choice yes we do we can stick to our guns and quickly…"
1 hour ago
LB replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"He is better than what we currently have."
1 hour ago
TolEllts replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"It Is always frustrating to see former Eels players gets connected to other teams instead of the club. It appears that It also seems that Eels do not have former players in blue/ orange trainer/support on the field unlike other teams. What might it…"
2 hours ago
EA replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"Apparently it is Dean Young. Not sure how he will go"
2 hours ago
Adam Magrath replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"So we've got a situation here with two of our most learned contributors (both possibly moderators) challenging each other as to what they would do over potential signings. Both saying they wouldn't pay KK the sum offered by St George. Are people…"
2 hours ago
LB replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"No there will be Aliens going through the same in their universe saying how dumb the Eels are. Marvin the Martian saying "they make me very angry""
3 hours ago
Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"All good.  Anyway what's wrong with coming from another solar system.  Hopefully in a parallel universe the eels may be the leagues powerhouse premiership winning giants  🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣"
3 hours ago
LB replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?

Mate I think you’ve completely misunderstood where I was coming from. I was actually defending you from FMP saying you wanted Gutho to stay.
I specifically pointed out you were in favour of moving Gutho on early. The BA comment was me explaining…"
3 hours ago
Nightmare Off-Season replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"Fair call, EA. Be interesting to see which coach they land with. "
3 hours ago
Nightmare Off-Season replied to Fiddy's discussion Burton to Eels?
"Personally, l wouldn't pay Kalooamatangi anywhere near 1.2m, only front rower in that area, imo, is Payne Haas. But also don't believe Anasta at all that the Dragons are paying 1.2m.
1m per season is tougher, because imo we are desperately needing…"
3 hours ago
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Signing predictions !

If you can only name one player who you think will be most likely coming to Parramatta for 2027, who will it be ?Whether you truly have inside info or just an educated guess, it doesn't matter. The whole excersize of this blog is to create some…

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