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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Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐 replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
"Coryn,  now that your mates- the nz Taranaki  rugby trainer has been booted out of Parramatta,  the team won't be running out of breath after 5 minutes in Round 1 again mate.   He really made a world of difference.    "
18 minutes ago
EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
"Nope he is fit finally! Listed at 26.I honestly got no idea what injury he had that caused him not to play the second half of the year. hopefully he has a strong year in nsw cup. I rate him more than Jezaiah and Samrani, as a backrower if he stays…"
44 minutes ago
EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
"Yep nothing flashy. Min contact."
47 minutes ago
EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
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Tin Tim replied to Hell On Eels's discussion V’landys Backflips but the Lomax Case May Hinge on One Question
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2 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
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4 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
"I want to see us control the ruck and complete high.
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None of that BS we saw last year high error count ball movement that came with it.If we are to use the…"
4 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
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4 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
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4 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
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4 hours ago
Perpetual Motion replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
"Me too."
7 hours ago
Perpetual Motion replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
"Still a big boy. With a big motor."
7 hours ago
Acme replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
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EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion 1st teams list v sharks
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