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England choose to bowl first in rain-delayed third Ashes Test

Australia lead 1-0 in the five-match series.

England opted to bowl first in the third Ashes Test but rain forced a delayed at Headingley.

The toss took place at 11.05am, 35 minutes later than scheduled, with England captain Joe Root opting to take advantage of dark clouds overhead and floodlit conditions in Leeds.

That meant a sold-out crowd would have to wait for their chance to see Jofra Archer, who captured the imagination in a scintillating debut at Lord's and took his place in an unchanged XI.

Opener Jason Roy passed a final concussion test after being hit on the helmet in the nets, while all-rounder Sam Curran was again kept on the sidelines.

Australia, 1-0 up in the series, made three changes with only the removal of concussion victim Steve Smith enforced.

Marnus Labuschagne stepped in for him, as he did as a history-making substitute at Lord's, with James Pattinson replacing fellow seamer Peter Siddle and opener Cameron Bancroft dropped for Marcus Harris.

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James Anderson in action on day one of the First Test of the Ashes on August 1, 2019
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