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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Hector replied to Prof. Daz's discussion Irony is Dead
"I like cold pea and Ham soup thats thick spread on hot toast Will . It's very yummy"
13 minutes ago
will replied to Prof. Daz's discussion Irony is Dead
"I could eat chicken soup with dumplings every day. I enjoy it the most"
2 hours ago
Steve replied to Prof. Daz's discussion Irony is Dead
"Might want to check how busy ICE was during Obama years before you go blame Trump"
7 hours ago
fishbulb replied to Poppa's discussion Shark Attack..... Moses told to be wary of the surf!
"Yes, much better at that than parting my hair,  of which i have none."
13 hours ago
Poppa replied to Poppa's discussion Shark Attack..... Moses told to be wary of the surf!
"good thinking fishy.....we need someone with your background to set this straight.....
I have heard that parting the ways, is one of your specialties."
13 hours ago
EA replied to Johnny Suede's discussion What player each NRL club would need to cough-up to snare Lomax
"Hey PT, do you know why Sorovi and Risati didnt play the trials?"
14 hours ago
paul taylor replied to Johnny Suede's discussion What player each NRL club would need to cough-up to snare Lomax
"Agree, without doubt probably the worst article I have read in a while.  Like  for LIke replacement, Rep player, versatile and obviously talented. mmmmmm few on that list "
14 hours ago
fishbulb replied to Poppa's discussion Shark Attack..... Moses told to be wary of the surf!
"Surely moses just parts the sea... that'd fuck the noahs right up
 "
14 hours ago
fishbulb replied to Johnny Suede's discussion What player each NRL club would need to cough-up to snare Lomax
"Interesting definition of comparable in this article lol!"
14 hours ago
LB replied to Johnny Suede's discussion What player each NRL club would need to cough-up to snare Lomax
"Though do Melbourne see this as a chance to win in 2026? Bellamy's last year more likely."
15 hours ago
Randy Handlinger replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Official Club Statement: Parramatta Eels commence legal proceedings against Zac Lomax
"Melbourne have everything to do with the release agreement if they've already signed, or taken action to sign Lomax outside the terms of the agreement....exactly, but they would not have done that unless the NRL gave them the thumbs up. We don't…"
15 hours ago
macybrown replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Official Club Statement: Parramatta Eels commence legal proceedings against Zac Lomax
"Exactly Yobz! He still signed it after knowing R360 was off table for couple a years too, but RU was there as he agreed and looked into signing up to! It wasn't that he didn't have a chance to play that...just the offer of 450K wasn't enough. Tough,…"
16 hours ago
Kenny Power replied to Johnny Suede's discussion What player each NRL club would need to cough-up to snare Lomax
"This was the stupidest article ever
baeucally replace lomax for whatever shitty centre a club has 
Like for like is a player comparable to or just below lomax that would boost our club"
16 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Official Club Statement: Parramatta Eels commence legal proceedings against Zac Lomax
"I suspect this might be what's going on Adam."
16 hours ago
Hell On Eels replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Official Club Statement: Parramatta Eels commence legal proceedings against Zac Lomax
"Bluey, Randy, good points.
What’s encouraging is that the engagement in this blog shows the site still has life and people who care enough to reply. That suggests the community is not dying as some predicted, but evolving.
We have lost posters for…"
16 hours ago
Adam Magrath replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Official Club Statement: Parramatta Eels commence legal proceedings against Zac Lomax
"Probably because Melbourne, schifcofske and the lawyer aren't going to voluntarily provide evidence (documents) which may incriminate them or their client if the nrl conduct their own investigation. Best to subpoena them as part of the court process…"
16 hours ago
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