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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HKF replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Yeah they built a squad then they built experience and confidence, then they won a comp. They didn't just fall into a premiership. "
55 minutes ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"That will be JR then your going to be critical of I've got a sneaking suspicion any decision made effecting his space he'll be the guy whose responsible for those especially in the recruitment and retention stakes."
3 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"I'm here nor there with the Pezet signing if we go good with him it's like getting knifed in the back he's off regardless and we have to start again at the spot in 27.If he doesn't and he gets hurt whatever the same as above applies we start again…"
3 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Did they win the comp because they played finals footy the year before or did they win the comp for the same reason they played finals footy? Which is because they had a great squad."
7 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Doesn't everyone go to Brisbane for unders? They had a sombrero before anyone else did."
7 hours ago
Parra_Greg replied to Eelawarra's discussion NRL LEGENDS EXPLAIN HOW TERRIFYING STEVE ELLA WAS
"An absolute Legend to be honest maybe better then Brett but injuries knocked him out ...the crow knew how good he was Steve scored a lot of tries of Mick........called try assists these days ...... Mick Cronin no ones comes close except Ray :-)"
9 hours ago
Wizardssleeves official receipts replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"If I'm correct we offered Galvin north of 850K some rumours say way north.  How much do you think Peasants signed for at Brisbane ?  "
11 hours ago
Eli Stephens replied to Rabz S's discussion Parramatta Eels extend Josh Addo-Carr
"These are the kinds of players we need to sign, he's genuinely happy to be at the club but also a great player. Tough to find that balance lol "
11 hours ago
Blue Eel replied to Rabz S's discussion Parramatta Eels extend Josh Addo-Carr
"haha Corey Norman the class clown, can't believe BA gave Corey and Mitch Moses an ultimatum, one of you have to leave.
Geez we got lucky there."
11 hours ago
HKF replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Because of the calibre of the player they brought in. If the eels bring is an experienced 6 than yes they should be fine but at this stage it looks like we will be relying on Lorenzo who will have no first grade experience or very little if he gets…"
12 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"Yes there's a difference bringing in a rookie compared to experienced players but it's got nothing to do with combinations. A new player is a new player.
And if the Broncos did 'build to a premiership', bringing in a brand new spine player didn't…"
12 hours ago
CarloEEL2 replied to Rabz S's discussion Parramatta Eels extend Josh Addo-Carr
"Me too 
was really worried about the dickhead factor - bloody Corey Norman's goofy fucking grin haunts me forever !!!"
12 hours ago
HKF replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Cooper Cronk: On the Parramatta Eels, Pezet, Lomax and Recruitment
"There is a big difference if you bring in a rookie as compared to experienced players like hunt and maloney.
Using the broncos premiership win as an example actually backs up what I'm saying, they built to a grand final just two seasons ago and then…"
13 hours ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to Rabz S's discussion Parramatta Eels extend Josh Addo-Carr
"Hopefully he does stay around. As a club, many of our juniors are Polynesians who have power and athleticism but we haven't really had many indigenous players come through our juniors and become a star.  Maybe that was BA fascination with size over…"
13 hours ago
Blue Eel replied to Rabz S's discussion Parramatta Eels extend Josh Addo-Carr
"It's like a second coming for him. I had some serious reservations about him coming, but I have been super impressed from the time he arrived. Cant believe i'm going to say this but, by all reports he is becoming a real leader and mentor. Such a…"
13 hours ago
LB replied to Rabz S's discussion Parramatta Eels extend Josh Addo-Carr
"I can see him staying after his playing career. All the talk is how good he is with the juniors and how well he teaches them. Ryles credited JAC as to why Russell improved out of site, particularly in defence."
13 hours ago
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