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

Archie replied to Hell On Eels's discussion We Don’t Lose Games in Moments. We Lose Them in Minutes.
"Terrific blog HOE. Love the stats.
i believe we haven't got the muscle up from to start games well. We are dominated up the middle for the first 25 minutes and always on the back foot. We come into our own once fatigue sets in and have the speed and…"
24 minutes ago
Hell On Eels replied to Hell On Eels's discussion We Don’t Lose Games in Moments. We Lose Them in Minutes.
"Thanks Mutts, I did. But it was only after looking at the patterns and zones in Foxs' match graphs over the last few weeks.  Then, I heard Reni Matua mention "death zones" to Braith Anasta in their podcast, and it all crystalized.
I believe the term…"
31 minutes ago
Muttman replied to Hell On Eels's discussion We Don’t Lose Games in Moments. We Lose Them in Minutes.
"Mate did you come up with this analysis yourself re zones? It's incredibly insightful. "
1 hour ago
Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill' Sack ! replied to Hell On Eels's discussion We Don’t Lose Games in Moments. We Lose Them in Minutes.
"My take is that our forwards have been beaten convincingly in every match both in defence and attack, especially in the first 30 minutes when.teams have their starting packs on.
The dragons had the majority feild position, but lacked the finesse in…"
1 hour ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill' Sack !'s discussion Eels Targets 2027
"I'm persisting with him I like the athleticism and ball skills on the edge he's an ascending player not a descending one.I think out of all the back rowers we have I think JR rates him highly as he's picked every week.You also got o have some sought…"
4 hours ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to Offside's discussion Panthers then daylight
"I would love to Penrith GPS stats vs other teams.  They seem to maintain line speed all game where other teams have to pick and choose as you can not physically maintain top level line speed pressure all game but Penrith do.  It also doesn't affect…"
7 hours ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to Offside's discussion Panthers then daylight
"How do Penrith maintain line speed, pressure and intensity for so long each game.   Sports science is always developing and I believe they have found a loophole.  Every club works hard and have the toughest preseason ever so I don't believe 1 team…"
7 hours ago
Richard Jackson replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill' Sack !'s discussion Eels Targets 2027
"EA, Apa played 7 in cup 2 0r 3 weeks ago and managed the game perfectly. His passing game is a thing of beauty and he never delivers a bad pass. The guy has time and is poised, calm and calculated as opposed to Lorenzo, who runs first and when he…"
9 hours ago
Darren Munro replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill' Sack !'s discussion Eels Targets 2027
"🤣🤣🤣"
10 hours ago
EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill' Sack !'s discussion Eels Targets 2027
"I recon Sua will get resigned once Flanno is sacked.
8. Kolomantangi
9. Liddle
10. T Couchman
11. Sua
12. Halangahu
13. Stewart
14. R Couchman
15. Egan
16. Pasifika Tonga
 
Invest in these players. They should fuck of Lawrie, Sele, Guler, Kerr,…"
10 hours ago
LB replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill' Sack !'s discussion Eels Targets 2027
"So would you say Twidle shies away from contact? Is he one to only really attack and that is it?
I see Lorenzo being an all-round player that really needs help with defence and that's it."
10 hours ago
Darren Munro replied to Offside's discussion Panthers then daylight
"Last night Penrith had 55% possession and Melbourne completed at 94%. I don't think I have ever seen that. Penrith never seem to get major injuries.  "
10 hours ago
LB replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill' Sack !'s discussion Eels Targets 2027
"Couchman twins can really build around. Ryan on an edge and Toby up front. Now Saints new coach will try to keep them hard and they are local boys but Toby will play Origin soon, he will be worth big $$$.
All you need is the get one and more likely…"
10 hours ago
EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill' Sack !'s discussion Eels Targets 2027
"He has never played 7 coming through. He lacks the defence, kicking game and game managment skills to be a 7.
Twiddle has a great highlights package but the really small things and 1%ers which are non-negotiable for NRL players is something he lacks."
10 hours ago
Darren Munro replied to Roy tannous's discussion Jayden sua and cook told to look elsewhere
"I would buy sua and play him in the middle. We need some power in the middle. Leave Jack on the edge. "
10 hours ago
LB replied to Roy tannous's discussion Jayden sua and cook told to look elsewhere
"It's there, i said the reason that players, Other than Su'A, are available (like Xerri and Timoko) is for a reason. The clubs do not want them for a reason and we are just solving those clubs problems. Xerri and Timoko i wouldn't mind being at the…"
10 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: 2271

 

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