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

Stevo replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Thats exactly right LB, no one has stood up to them in the way that we have. We have kept infront of everything theyve thrown at us and kept our cool which has annoyed them even more. I feel once this is all done and dusted the NRL will have…"
40 minutes ago
LB replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Plus, he thought we are weak and will toe the line as we and many other clubs have for the last so many years. Finally one has cracked and they do not know how to respond so they go to the media to plead their case and has made it worse."
50 minutes ago
LB replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Tripp will take it from here now as co-chairman of NRL."
51 minutes ago
LB replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Strange how they are using him, was he an HIA assessment?"
51 minutes ago
EA replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Yes"
54 minutes ago
Tin Tim replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Trial #2 / Pre Season Challenge Week 3 Team List v Sydney Roosters
"Have 1 spare ticket. "
58 minutes ago
Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐 replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"How are you receiving the coverage ea. Bar ?"
58 minutes ago
EA replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Nvm Moretti back on the field. Weird his opening stint was 10min"
1 hour ago
EA replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"I hope Moretti and Richie are not injured because they only played 10 and 20min of the cup trial lol. I didn't notice any injury "
1 hour ago
Muttman replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Make no mistake, V'Landys is in this up to his eyeballs. He thought he could simply bulldoze this through. He thought as Chairman of the NRL he had the ultimate authority and could simply decree what was to happen. Sorry Peter, the NSW Supreme Court…"
1 hour ago
Mallee57 replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"That's good to know "
1 hour ago
Blue Eel replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"haha, Sorry Mr Tripp and Mr V'Landys. I gave myself an uppercut and I've now seen the light. Can I now have my brown paperbag full off kick backs please, And I promise i'll toe the line from now on."
1 hour ago
LB replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"BE how dare you, don't you understand Melbourne are the victims here. Being bullied constantly by NSW media for years and the jealous little brothers, we will take them down for however long it takes. Parra are being unreasonable and should just let…"
1 hour ago
LB replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Lee Hagipitalis mentioned Arthur Moses as one of the best Barristers he has seen, he has been on the scene for a long time and knows his shit. My wife worked for him for years and though he was dodgy with personal life and not a great person he was…"
1 hour ago
Blue Eel replied to Johnny Suede's discussion V’landys denies favouritism towards Storm & Lomax; Parra Leagues to back case "to the bitter end"
"Interesting that it has now been confirmed as i suggested at the start. That the mediation process between the Eels and the Storm/Lomax had the NRL smack in the middle of it.
There are kick backs coming left right and centre, love this if it finally…"
2 hours ago
EA replied to EA's discussion EA & SB Rookie Report - SG Ball Watchlist
"Eels HM and SG ball continue the winning my ways with both teams starting the season 3-0. HM won 22-8 whilst the SG ball team won 54-12. 
The SG ball team were up 30-12 at HT. And I can have not seen a worse team performance in one half for a team…"
2 hours ago
More…

Keaon done deal

As of Thursday, December 11, 2025, South Sydney Rabbitohs forwardKeaon Koloamatangi has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Parramatta Eels, but it is not yet officially announced by the clubs.  Soon to be announced.

Read more…
14 Replies · Reply by Poppa Jan 9
Views: 2093

 

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