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 Eli Stephens's discussion Players Vote Eels No.2 Club, Behind the Panthers
"Exactly, Pou. Our self-cannibalisation was our undoing, even if Sharp didn't intend to harm the club with his fan-wooing, "I will do whatever it takes to return the club to the glory days" slogans.
The Tigers are another club who are on the verge of…"
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Poupou Escobar replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Players Vote Eels No.2 Club, Behind the Panthers
"Yep, and the only way they are revealed is through whistleblowers, or dumb players running their mouth as in the case of James Maloney at Penrith a few years ago. Clubs without whistleblowers are internally united, which is the opposite of the den…"
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The Badger replied to SuperEel 22's discussion Your questions to the Eels bosses
"Still doesn't explain how we are spending the minimum mandatory required amount of the cap whilst (as you state) pay most of our players minimum expected amounts. "
51 minutes ago
Hell On Eels replied to Blue Eel's discussion Reliance on Juniors as our Pathway to Glory vs Signing Talented 1st Graders
"The Eels are locking in large bundles of juniors long-term with clear pathways to NRL contracts. They also started to use Dr Goldman's US-based assessment tools for juniors. Goldman has worked with the Warriors (think Stephen Curry), NFL teams & top…"
1 hour ago
Mitchy replied to Blue Eel's discussion Reliance on Juniors as our Pathway to Glory vs Signing Talented 1st Graders
"I get your frustration, however this is not reality, teams have always gone after kids from various areas. First and foremost our club needs to work out who to retain and keep and then those to bring in. I for one am glad Ryles has done what he has…"
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Hell On Eels replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Players Vote Eels No.2 Club, Behind the Panthers
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Hell On Eels replied to SuperEel 22's discussion Your questions to the Eels bosses
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But I don't think the powerbrokers at the…"
1 hour ago
Hell On Eels replied to Blue Eel's discussion Reliance on Juniors as our Pathway to Glory vs Signing Talented 1st Graders
"Good blog, Bluey. Your concerns are fair. Where we differ is what “all in” means. I don’t think we are "all in" only on juniors. We are "all in" trying to improve across the whole footy spectrum.
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2 hours ago
Poppa replied to SuperEel 22's discussion Your questions to the Eels bosses
"I suspect that is an urban myth! but an example just the same of what can be done!"
2 hours ago
Poppa replied to SuperEel 22's discussion Your questions to the Eels bosses
"Yes, there is no doubt that is what happens and elsewhere LB. 
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2 hours ago
Poppa replied to SuperEel 22's discussion Your questions to the Eels bosses
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SuperEel 22 replied to SuperEel 22's discussion Your questions to the Eels bosses
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3 hours ago
iamnot replied to Blue Eel's discussion Reliance on Juniors as our Pathway to Glory vs Signing Talented 1st Graders
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3 hours ago
SuperEel 22 replied to Blue Eel's discussion Reliance on Juniors as our Pathway to Glory vs Signing Talented 1st Graders
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3 hours ago
Mitchy replied to Blue Eel's discussion Reliance on Juniors as our Pathway to Glory vs Signing Talented 1st Graders
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3 hours ago
EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin 🐐's discussion AI picks Parramatta eels best 17 for 2026 season
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ANY MORE SIGNINGS???

I've been frustrated recently about the work we have been doing in the open market. Jonah's alright for a year and JDB is solid but he's getting old. I feel we need more in the forwards and some a replacement outside back. All I have seen is links…

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Views: 35

 

ANY MORE SIGNINGS???

I've been frustrated recently about the work we have been doing in the open market. Jonah's alright for a year and JDB is solid but he's getting old. I feel we need more in the forwards and some a replacement outside back. All I have seen is links…

Read more…
36 Replies · Reply by LB yesterday
Views: 1803

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