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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Poupou Escobar replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion St. George Illawarra Dragons secure Keaon Koloamatangi on long-term deal
"Dylan Brown didn't need to be on a long term contract to block Talagi or Sanders. He only needed to be here in the year after those two were off contract to block them. And he was. The PO was irrelevant there."
29 minutes ago
TolEllts replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"MON and all his staff at R&R should be sacked if they don't have the decency to go. It had been happening consistently, losing out to every player that some teams are also after. It is not accidental, it is utterly incompetence."
10 hours ago
Frank The Tank replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"Hang in there mate.
I know it's tough to get struck by lightening more than once, but that's exactly what it's going to take with the current tactics the club is employing."
11 hours ago
Frank The Tank replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"Who was it that said, winning starts in the front office. Cant remember that blokes name, seems like he knew a bit...
Front office is poorly managed with sub par staff. Start by hiring the best and then let's see if things change in the recruitment…"
11 hours ago
Frank The Tank replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"No doubt there's been improvement on the field and off it, but we are still far away from where need to be off it IMO.
Ryles has been a revelation and so too has the R&R team - although there's has been in a negative light."
11 hours ago
Frank The Tank replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"You won't get answers from the club Fongy nor some on here....
Just more excuses and positivity even though the points you make are smacking them right between the eyes."
11 hours ago
Poppa replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"This is your Blog Bluey, I had not heard of any of these signing until you alerted me to it!
I suspect this went out as a block release, and up until now Zero Tackle who probably would not recognise any of these players, thought they would make a…"
12 hours ago
Poppa replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"Second Paragraph Frankie......they do until they succeed!"
12 hours ago
Poppa replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
""If Parramatta did pay overs for KK of course many would of hammered the club , but it would of also shown that the club knew they had to do something to at least try and get a big name , best to go down trying than to go down doing the same thing…"
12 hours ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Eli Stephens's discussion Does anyone know what Jack Williams contract is worth ?
"Cheers Adam. Unfortunately to some observers, explaining means making excuses. It's not seen as helpful to people who just want to whinge and vent."
14 hours ago
sloth replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"I'm not disagreeing that the club still struggles to attract top talent, but you have to admit that it has improved compared to the early BA days. With the arrival of Ryles we've changed strategies to smarter contracts, instead of doubling down and…"
14 hours ago
Hell On Eels replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"Frankie, I've posted a blog titled "the foetal position" which might address some of your questions. If you answer my questions, I'll answer yours. Otherwise, I won't play your games."
14 hours ago
Clintorian replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"We'll be stuck in an infinite loop of sadness until we win a Premiership, and to do this we'll need to get ourselves out of it by focusing on juniors or non-elite players."
14 hours ago
The Badger replied to Blue Eel's discussion Let's Ask !!
"Come on Frank. MON organised Woolies Meat supply chain. 
We'd have the best after training BBQs in the NRL."
15 hours ago
Hell On Eels replied to Blue Eel's discussion Injury-plagued winger among four players retained by Parramatta Eels
"Frank, you’re welcome to keep poo-bombing the walls in the zoo here (better here than at home), but I’m not apologising for the club behaving like adults. Matching the Saints’ offer would be irresponsible. Souths didn't. The Chooks didn't. We didn't."
15 hours ago
Bear replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion St. George Illawarra Dragons secure Keaon Koloamatangi on long-term deal
"Darkest times of the club???????? Obviously you weren't around just after Sterling and Kenny left....dark times my ass. Stop whining, our trajectory is on an upwards curve, is it akin to " I have to have the latest new toy" 😄 "
15 hours ago
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