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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Hell On Eels replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Hawkins was good for our club, despite staying only for a year, no? Pezet is at worst, a decent short-term depth replacement. You need depth. Panthers halves depth options are also a perennial revolving door.  We don't say they're stupid for…"
10 minutes ago
LB replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"Yeah it is hard, as us fans including myself want signings. Though, at the same time you do not just sign for the sake of it either."
46 minutes ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"Managers and players might be holding off to see what happens with R360 they have a contract for 2026 anyway "
48 minutes ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Have anyone of those halves been on a one year deal where there bailing.I don't know of any club that's done the player a favour and paid them the mentioned also.
Theres very little upside in this deal for Parra as we either rinse wash repeat in the…"
50 minutes ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to Axel's discussion Is it UFC or R360 for Lomax?
"UFC is the top promotion so it is unlikely someone starting his pro career at his age makes it that far.  Regional circuits and maybe an Aussie promotion at best.  I don't even see him getting a start at One, or PFL.
His trainer wants him to start…"
1 hour ago
Adam Magrath replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"If that's the state of the market we should be consolidating our position, not going to market."
1 hour ago
Tin Tim replied to Axel's discussion Is it UFC or R360 for Lomax?
"Who cares, he trying to get around the 10yr ban from NRL, so if he goes to a different sport then R360, he really didn't leave NRL to go to R360. "
1 hour ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"If Pezet plays 20+ games for us he will definitely provide $600k worth of value. It's 2025. Every club in the NRL will have one or both starting halves on $600k+."
2 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Aj's discussion Why have our signings. Gone quiet 🤫
"Because there aren't enough off contract players to meet the demand. This is creating a bidding war. So the clubs might be in a hurry to sign players but the players certainly won't be in a hurry to sign when there's so much money available. It's a…"
2 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"This is where I'm hoping the clubs at in this area if we are like Pou is mentioned around 600 it's not good value for us that's another decent player in your top 30 that's development ready."
4 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Good luck with that if potential is worth a mill these days go the Broncos but as for us a 20 game not much isn't worth 600.
Potential unrealised even if he has a good year here if teams are valuing that there the teams that are fucked.The good…"
4 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"He's not getting paid for what he's done, he'll be geting paid for what he's expected to do during the course of the contract. If he underperforms those expectations then he'll be on overs, but I expect Pezet to become one of the top halves in the…"
5 hours ago
Adam Magrath replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"That figure is much more believable in the circumstances. Of course Anasta didn't disclose figures but he stated we got him "cheap".
The problem here is people take stabs in the dark about what players are actually paid or offers clubs make and it…"
6 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"What's he done in the game has he played for his country SoO what.We've just realeased an international half who was on 850-900 yet Pezet is reputable after 20 games I mean seriously.
I hope your right I hope Brisbane are stupid enough to pay this…"
7 hours ago
Hell On Eels replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"350K, if true, is a steal, Michael. On my own list, I had him around a bargain-priced 450K, based on what MON happily said about a "good price", his Ryles relationship, and what Anasta implied with everyone winning; except the Storm at this stage.…"
9 hours ago
Michael W. replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"$350k and that is accurate. Don't ask me how I know, I just know."
10 hours ago
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