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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EA replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"I have been wrong before lol.
I thought MA would be much better than what his career is right now. I thought Alamadine would be a much better winger but I feel he has made minimal progression since we won SG ball in 2023. Ethyn Martin, I got no idea…"
16 minutes ago
EA replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"yes Lorenzo is the real deal but like any young half, he has things to work on. He has been compared to a young Milford. Defensively he is fine. Can get exposed a bit but again he is young."
23 minutes ago
EA replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"I dont rate Moujalii that high. Walker could be a decent centre. Strong running game."
24 minutes ago
Kurupt - Your Mums Favourite Thug replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Oh well, no biggie"
47 minutes ago
Yehez replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"As said above, Penrith lost Hopgood, Iongi, Leniu. 
Melbourne lost Pezet. 
Tigers lost Galvin and Da Silva. 
We have created pathways for Tuivati, Guymer, Ryley, and by the looks of it Lorenzo. 
That's my point, you can'd do it to all of them. We…"
1 hour ago
Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill's 🪓 replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"We could have picked him up for 450 or less have o'neill acted earlier,  also Sam Tuivaiti is now in a similar position.  Watch fans justify him leaving if and  when the dogs or the bears sign him.for 650k this November 
O'neill is the common…"
1 hour ago
Poupou Escobar replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"The Roosters lost Mitchell, Manu and Sua'ali'i and Penrith lost heaps of kids including Isaiya Katoa."
1 hour ago
Josh d replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"This is the model all of the good teams seem to use. I think the bigger problem is parra management not being able to sell the future to the young kids coming through. There's no way the roosters, Melbourne or Penrith lose talagai, sanders, twiddle…"
2 hours ago
The Captain replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Really well put Coryn! "
2 hours ago
The Captain replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"I'd say the four consecutive premierships may have softened the blow. Who'd have thought that success would help people retain their jobs... 🤷‍♂️"
2 hours ago
Angry Eel replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Pretty good with their 4 premierships I'd say "
2 hours ago
Angry Eel replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"I agree RJ. I reckon we're going to regret this one. "
2 hours ago
Yehez replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"That was gonna be my preferred outcome. Play him on the wing. But:
1. Does he want that?
2. Does he want that when he has other options with better money?
3. Does he give us what we want on the wing? For example, he won't give us 50% of the metres…"
2 hours ago
Richard Jackson replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Just like gutho Josh"
3 hours ago
Muttman replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"As Chief said if you have some foresight you don't let players you wish to keep, become so available that other clubs get a clean shot at them. $650k for Russell is probably thereabouts right now. We seem to have a knack for letting talent walk as…"
3 hours ago
Muttman replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"I was being sarcastic mate. Curran was shit at centre which wasn't really his fault. I was just highlighting that we had a very decent centre in Russell and let him walk. So who's next, Kelly? "
3 hours ago
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