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

Mallee57 replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"Emojis are there to brighten your obviously sad vibes. Hope these 2 cheer you're drooping demeanor 😜🤓"
1 minute ago
Mallee57 replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"Attach a copy and I'll have a read"
6 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Sneaky Pete's discussion What we need.
"They have a good coach"
8 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Sneaky Pete's discussion What we need.
"Geoff Toovey"
9 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Sneaky Pete's discussion What we need.
"definitely on the cards"
10 minutes ago
LB replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Iongi playing in NSW Cup today - some positive news
"Lacking Tuivaiti's size badly."
24 minutes ago
LB replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Iongi playing in NSW Cup today - some positive news
"From what i have seen and heard is he is doing pretty well. I know stats aren't everything but considering he has been playing half games, as he backs up for NRL, his stats are pretty good. Also, he has been playing with different Halfbacks, Hooker,…"
25 minutes ago
Darren Munro replied to Sneaky Pete's discussion What we need.
"The problem is we don't have a full spine. That's on recruitment. We have recruited very poorly this year. "
26 minutes ago
LB replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin's discussion Iongi playing in NSW Cup today - some positive news
"Smith instead of Penisini."
26 minutes ago
Vasily Arkhipov replied to Poppa's discussion Poppa's Corner; The cattle is the problem, this maybe the catalyst to make us do some drastic things!
"Have a read of my commentary in another blog about the joyous occasion of my ittle ones birthday.  It was a marvellous day. "
34 minutes ago
LB replied to Roy tannous's discussion Spirits crushed
"I reckon majority of Parramatta players do not live in the area. Then again, Penrith ain't no better and they did well before their dominance attracting players. 
I know Dragons have Wollongong but isn't that area getting dodgy as well? I know my…"
36 minutes ago
BringBackSemi replied to Roy tannous's discussion Spirits crushed
"Hard to attract players because of the location. Have you walked around Parramatta Westfield at all? The demographic of the area isn't where I'd want to bring my kids up. I used to live in Dundas and I felt whenever I went into Parra it was like…"
38 minutes ago
Vasily Arkhipov replied to Roy tannous's discussion Spirits crushed
"Had a wonderful birthday party yesterday for our little one. Rain held off, and the kids had a great time. Plenty of food, wife made a mean rissoto, but I punished the date balls. Those bad boys tasted devine l!  Knocked over a few hotdogs as well…"
52 minutes ago
LB replied to Roy tannous's discussion Spirits crushed
"Fainu also. Twal was out for their game v Manly. They still had most of their spine and Madden who was a world beater to start the year. May brothers also. "
1 hour ago
The Captain replied to Sneaky Pete's discussion What we need.
"I admire the passion mate, but petitions don't work, and we don't want to demand blind change for changes sake...we have to put forward what that fresh direction could be.
Put your ideas up here - this place is pretty well read by many in the know…"
1 hour ago
Yehez replied to Roy tannous's discussion Spirits crushed
"Who are they missing then? Just Douehi and Bula?"
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: 2431

 

Spirits crushed

Spirits crushed.. just looking at all the teams in the comp compared to us and Fmd.Newcastle wooden spooners now playing amazing footy and tigers 3 wooden spoons in a row and at full strength brilliant.Just looking at all the shit teams in the last…

Read more…
6 Replies · Reply by LB 36 minutes ago
Views: 195

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