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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Richard Jackson replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
"Yeah it will be tough for the "Here we goes," but I like our draw.
It's true the Storm haven't lost a round 1 game for forever but keep in mind they've been shortened up a bit and we are on the up. I think with that record opposing teams are beaten…"
1 minute ago
Eli Stephens replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
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3 minutes ago
Prof. Daz replied to Troy Wade's discussion Round 1 v Storm
"Apparently the Storm have never lost Round 1 under Bellamy since he took over in 2003? Storm lost in 2000 and 2001 pre-Bellamy and Round 2 in 2004 (after a bye in R1). I will be at AAMI surrounded by Purple Dipsh*ts, hoping it does not turn into a…"
4 minutes ago
Prof. Daz replied to Troy Wade's discussion Round 1 v Storm
"Eels/Storm, Dogs/Dragons and Bunnies/Dolphins all scheduled for Round 1 both 2026 and 2025. "
12 minutes ago
Richard Jackson replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
"I'll pay it Poppa"
29 minutes ago
LB replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
"Yeah and they made us travel alo......oh wait no we travel the least of any team in the comp. Plus have 14 games at Commbank overall. Plus looking at it as it is based on last year finish the last 6 weeks with only 1 top 8 team, 3 of the games at…"
35 minutes ago
LB replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
"I think from Round 8 to 10 is that perfect spot for first bye."
42 minutes ago
Six again replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion Eels rated big winners in 2026 draw
"And no game in Darwin.  That will help them. "
50 minutes ago
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1 hour ago
EA replied to Nitram's discussion Halves merry-go-round
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1 hour ago
HKF replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
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1 hour ago
SuperEel 22 replied to Troy Wade's discussion Round 1 v Storm
"NRL has been using computer programs to assist with the draw for like 20 years. It's nothing new."
2 hours ago
SuperEel 22 replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
"But we do have 6 of our first 9 at home."
2 hours ago
MeelK replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
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2 hours ago
MeelK replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
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2 hours ago
HKF replied to Rabz S's discussion 26 NRL Draw released
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