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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Coryn Hughes replied to Poppa's discussion Poppas Corner: What other team could possibly deliver , guts, glory and heartaches.....and some dare to say they don't know why we support them?
"TDS's ball distribution was my #1 bugger bare of him I don't know how long ago.
But guess what it's improved I think there's some obvious work that's taken place on that front.
Volkman is a hit or miss for me he's had his moments but he feels like a…"
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Snottie Pimpin replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"I agree wholeheartedly with this  . I actually feel we are a pretty well coached football side. Most of the rubbish stems from guys losing athletically or making bad decisions. The system itself isn't the issue. Our recruitment and retention team…"
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Prof. Daz replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"Russell was marking Chester?"
4 hours ago
JC replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"Chester has been burning everyone he had been up against this year. Has speed to burn."
4 hours ago
JC replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"Well I was under the impression thathe was re-signed, hopefully he isn't. "
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Kurupt - Your Mums Favourite Thug replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"🤣"
7 hours ago
LB replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"Only seen him for 2 games, need to see more of Nanva."
7 hours ago
Xman replied to Poppa's discussion Poppas Corner: What other team could possibly deliver , guts, glory and heartaches.....and some dare to say they don't know why we support them?
"Agree, Samrani just seems to be in the right place at the right time and can find the line, he is not the quickest or have flashy footwork so eventually see him moving to second row but he is just reliable. 
TDS was great last night and is damn…"
8 hours ago
Gucci replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"Same as To'o with less skill"
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Flow Basket replied to Eli Stephens's discussion 3,2,1 😊😊
"Jac 
Volkon 
Tds"
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Flow Basket replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"Samrani has defence problems last night but coming back from injury to keep going the way he did impressive. He's always good in attack .if he's defence was OK in previous games he's a keeper"
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Old School Eel replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"He has no speed. When is the last time he scored a runaway try?  He could be a good meter eater in the wing, not a speedy one."
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Blue Eel replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"They don't have to find a way. It appears he is not signed past this year, even though he has said in an interview some 6 months ago that he was resigned."
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Mr 'BringBackFitzy' Analyst replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"The Lebanese Ibis"
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Darren Munro replied to Eli Stephens's discussion 3,2,1 😊😊
"I think doorey will be starting at lock if jdb is moved on. Unless another junior does well in first grade."
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Raptor Jesus replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"Penisini is straight up terrible. Someone said he costs us games, which is completely true. I dunno if I've ever seen a player butcher as many tries as Penisini fingers. Pack his bags, send him to perth with his mate Sean. Or PNG. Plus he gets…"
11 hours ago
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Keaon done deal

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14 Replies · Reply by Poppa Jan 9
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