Australia vs England: What time does the third Ashes Test start, what TV channel is it on and what is our prediction
What is it?
It's the third Ashes Test! It will be played at the Waca in Perth between Australia and England. The Aussies currently lead the five-Test series 2-0, so this is a must-win for Joe Root's tourists.
When is it?
It begins on Thursday, December 14 (that's tomorrow) and takes place over five days.
What time does it start?
It's an early start - 2.30am GMT.
What TV channel is it on?
It will be on BT Sport 1 from 1.30am GMT. Alternatively, you can follow all the LIVE coverage right here through the night.
Team news
England have moved Jonny Bairstow one place up the batting order to No 6 in an otherwise unchanged line-up.
Bairstow batted at No 7 in the previous two Tests of the series in Brisbane and Adelaide but has switched places with all-rounder Moeen Ali for the match in Perth.
England must at least draw at the Waca, where they have won just once since their first visit in 1970, to keep their hopes of retaining the urn alive.
England have made the call to put Moeen down to No 7 after his largely unproductive series with the bat so far.
The all-rounder has made only 105 runs in four innings, falling on each occasion to in-form Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Bairstow, who has been batting with the tail, therefore gets the opportunity to impress further up the order.
Australia appear almost certain to change their winning team as they replace out-of-form batsman Peter Handscomb with all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Match preview
Two-nil down and with a harried captain insisting his team was neither dead nor buried, there is an unnerving sense of deja vu at the Waca.
Four years on from the last doomed trip to Western Australia, Joe Root leads a mostly different set of players into the same unenviable predicament as his predecessor, Alastair Cook.
The glorious weather has done little to ease a feeling of foreboding surrounding Root's team, one that also weighed on Cook's England before their meek surrender in 2013/14.
The tourists need a draw to keep the five-match series alive before they head to Melbourne, but holders England have not managed one in over 30 years at the Waca, where they have lost their past seven Tests in succession.
Like his former captain Cook, still present as an out-of-form opening batsman, Root has endured a tour Down Under littered with distractions and tawdry off-field problems.
He has also echoed Cook's words from the last tour, insisting his side can defy 80 years of history and join Don Bradman's Australia as the only team to come back from 2-0 down to win an Ashes series.
A 150-run thrashing followed days after Cook's backs-to-the-wall bravado, along with the ignominy of handing back the coveted urn with two Tests to spare.
Much of England's shell-shock was delivered by Australia's man-of-the-series, Mitchell Johnson, who grabbed six of his 37 wickets at the Waca with his intimidating left-arm pace.
None of Australia's current pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have enjoyed Johnson-style dominance yet, but each have made vital contributions and denied England's batsmen a morale-boosting century.
What are they saying?
Australia captain Steve Smith
"I wouldn't say we've played our best just yet. We've shown glimpses at times - (but) I thought we were pretty poor in the second innings last week with the bat.
"So I think we've got a bit of improving to do - which is always nice, when you're still winning games of cricket.
"I hope we can start this game well, and put England under a little bit of pressure. If we could win this game, certainly it would take the wind out of their sails a little bit, and the series is dead and buried."
England captain Joe Root:
"I knew it would be challenging, and I knew there would be stuff around the cricket, but not to this extent.
"I'm fed up of talking about stuff that's not cricket. I don't know how I've still got all my hair... I can completely see how captaincy can take its toll.
"I feel like I've learned a large amount. The lads have to wake up and smarten up. It's been frustrating... very frustrating. Guys have made silly mistakes that of course are going to get blown out of proportion."
What are the odds?
Australia to win 8/15
Draw 5/1
England to win 4/1
What is our prediction?
It would be great to think that England can upset the odds and claim victory in Perth to keep this series alive. But let's be honest, that's very unlikely. The difference in speeds of the two attacks will again come to the fore and there is, on average, a 5mph advantage to the Aussies. And at the Waca, that could be huge.
Predicted result: Australia (convincing) win.
