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

Wizardssleeves official receipts replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Correctamondo, he's the best coach the Warriors have ever had, baring maybe Ando .  Gus sacked him from Penrith as Ivan wanted the reigns ,  then the board smartened up and realised who shoukd have them.  Once Ivan was given control the rest is…"
2 hours ago
LB replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"Oh ok sweet."
4 hours ago
LB replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"To get him over the line, yes he does. As many clubs wanted him like us and.................."
4 hours ago
Hell On Eels replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Wizzy, spot on with Cleary. Signs were there before the Panthers. Got the Warriors from 11th to the GF & the best defence in their history, playing finals 4/6 yrs. Got the Tigers to their equal-or-second-best defensive rank in their history in a…"
4 hours ago
ParramAddict replied to ParramAddict's discussion Sparkles The Eel Plush toy
"🤣🤣"
5 hours ago
Wizardssleeves official receipts replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Facts are , The panthers acheived fuck all until they were smart enough to punt Gus.  It was funny watching him try to take credit for their success when they needed to remove his influence to win a comp.  The core of the team are local kids , Gus…"
6 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"That's the thing Coryn. Is it possible to pay too much for Koloamatangi? I think it is. Every club has some wiggle room on how much they can afford to overpay. Hopefully Moses hasn't taken up all of ours."
6 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"Seems to be a few clubs interested in Kolomatangi.
Weve obviously got the cash for this move now all that has to happen is we close this deal.The long and more drawn out it becomes the less chance we have.If I'm honest I don't think he wants to…"
7 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"😂 and the winner is."
7 hours ago
Gucci replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"Pou has linked the right video. Go to 4min 30sec for Keaon talk."
7 hours ago
Randy Handlinger replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"Things that don't exist are usually quiet"
8 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
8 hours ago
HKF replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"You linked the previous pages of this blog"
8 hours ago
LB replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"You linked this blog?"
8 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"4:30?? It's after five o'clock ffs!"
9 hours ago
Parramatta Tragic replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
""
9 hours ago
More…

 

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