Steven Smith will need to bat against top pace within the next three days and show no further signs of concussion in order to be passed fit for the third Test at Headingley on Thursday, admitting he did not want to return unless he was "100% fit" to play in the next chapter of this Ashes series.

While expressing hope that he will be able to play at Leeds, Smith conceded that the "quick turnaround" between the second and third Tests would provide an obstacle for his return from what he described as a "mild concussion" resulting from a blow to the neck from Jofra Archer on day four at Lord's - a diagnosis that lead to him becoming the first concussion substitution in international cricket.

"It's obviously a quick turnaround between Test matches," Smith said. "I'm going to be assessed over the next five or six days, each day a couple times a day to see how I'm feeling and progressing and I'm hopeful I will be available for that Test match, but it's certainly up to the medical staff and we'll have conversations. It's certainly an area of concern concussion and I want to be 100% fit.

"I've got to be able to train probably a couple of days out and face fast bowling to make sure my reaction time and all that kind of stuff is in place. There's a few tests I'll have to tick off and I guess time will tell.

"I'd love to be out there trying to keep performing and try help Australia win another Test match but I think the right decision's been made and I'll obviously be monitored very closely over the next few days with a pretty quick turnaround in between Test matches and I'm hopeful I can make a recovery and be okay for that."

Speaking about how he felt on the fifth morning, Smith said his condition had deteriorated relative to what it had been in the hour after he was hit by Archer, at the time passing the concussion tests he needed to in order to resume his innings.

"I started to feel a little bit of a headache coming on last night, probably as the adrenaline got out of my system," Smith said. "I was able to get a good sleep in, which is somewhat rare for me. But woke up feeling a little bit groggy and with a headache again, so had some tests done and upon some further assessments deemed to be a mild concussion unfortunately.

"We did a test this morning here at the ground, did one last night and results changed slightly and unfortunately that and how I'm feeling have contributed to me being ruled out for the rest of the Test match. Yesterday when I came off the ground the results were normal. I passed all the tests and felt fine, felt normal. I was allowed to go back out and bat, upon discussions with the team doctor and the coach as well. They were both happy and I was comfortable as well, so we were all happy and I was able to go out and continue batting.

"I didn't have any real pain in my neck yesterday when I touched it or when anyone else touched it. Today I do have a bit of pain there, whether that's some swelling or what I'm not sure. Perhaps that's leading to me having a headache and feeling a bit groggy. In regards to the arm, the arm feels pretty good today. It's quite a good bruise I have on it and it's feeling a lot better. The movement I have in it is far greater than I had yesterday and that feels really good."

In explaining why he did not use a stem guard to protect the back of his neck, Smith said that he would now have to consider adopting the extra protection in the wake of his injury. "I along with a few other players in the team find it a little bit different, uncomfortable to what we're used to," he said. "For me I feel a little bit claustrophobic when its on, I feel like I'm enclosed and not overly comfortable. But it's certainly something I need to probably have a look at and perhaps try in the nets and see if I can find a way to get comfortable with it.

"Australia's the leader in bringing the concussion subs and rules around concussion in the domestic competition back home. We're very thorough in the way we deal with knocks to the head and neck to ensure that the safety and health of a player is of paramount importance. The doc's had a pretty close eye on me since I came off the field yesterday and I've been assessed and asked a lot of questions over the last 20 hours or thereabouts, and unfortunately I've declined in the way I've felt over that time."

Southern Vipers 178 for 5 (Wyatt 110, van Niekerk 3-31) beat Surrey Stars 89 (Taylor 3-11, Morris 2-13) by 89 runs

Danni Wyatt became the first English player to score a Kia Super League century as Southern Vipers thrashed Surrey Stars by 89 runs for a bonus-point win. England T20 opener Wyatt clouted a stunning 110 from 60 balls, the second-highest KSL score and her first ton since March last year against India.

The Sussex star helped the Vipers to 178, the fourth-highest total in KSL history, at Arundel, before an all-round bowling display saw the Stars bowled out for 89.

A rare positive for Surrey in the drubbing was a hat-trick from spinner Dane van Niekerk in the last over of the Vipers' innings as the holders suffered their second defeat of the competition.

The victory extended Vipers' lead over the Stars in second and broke a two-game winless run - after defeat to leaders Western Storm and a tie with Lancashire Thunder.

After being stuck in by Surrey, Wyatt was the star of the show from the moment she swept and cut back-to-back boundaries off van Niekerk in the fourth over. The Vipers were only on 29 out of the Powerplay and 68 at the halfway point, but Wyatt went through the gears and Suzie Bates found some timing.

Wyatt reached her fifty in 32 balls, the second time past the milestone this season, brought up with slog-swept maximum. It was one of a tournament-high seven sixes in Wyatt's swashbuckling innings, with nine four played all around the park, but mostly coming down the ground through the V.

She put on 109 with Bates, Vipers' first-ever century opening partnership, before the New Zealander was caught at long-off by Nat Sciver for 39.

That seemed to set Wyatt loose, as she thrashed 17 and 23 off consecutive Sciver and Laura Marsh overs - with an impeccable straight-six bringing up her maximum in 56 balls. The century was the second-fastest in KSL history and was only behind Bates' 119 in 2017 in terms of runs.

Wyatt did depart when Sciver bowled her, with every Surrey player running over to shake her hand, before van Niekerk's treble - which consisted of Stafanie Taylor and debutant Marie Kelly being bowled and Maia Bouchier caught behind.

In their chase of 179, Surrey lost Bryony Smith in the second over, bowled by Tash Farrant, before fellow opener Lizelle Lee was caught at square leg in the fourth over. Skipper Sciver was castled by Farrant and van Niekerk was lbw to Fi Morris as the Stars never got going.

Stafanie Taylor had Sarah Taylor stumped, after a fumble by Tammy Beaumont, and Aylish Cranstone bowled next ball to leave the visitors floundering on 70 for 6. Marsh holed out to deep square leg, Mady Villiers was run out, Gwenan Davies was yorked and Marizanne Kapp was caught on the boundary to confirm the victory for the Vipers.

Western Storm 160 for 5 (Mandhana 72) beat Lancashire Thunder 159 for 8 (Harmanpreet 50, Shrubsole 3-36) by five wickets

Western Storm continued their perfect start to the Kia Super League with a thrilling five-wicket win over winless Lancashire Thunder at Chester Boughton Hall.

Smriti Mandhana's superb 72 from just 43 balls was the mainstay of the Storm's successful chase of 160 as the 2017 champions made it six wins from six. Deepti Sharma struck the winning boundary off the penultimate ball.

Harmanpreet Kaur earlier made a half-century for Lancashire, sharing an 85-run stand with Tahlia McGrath, but it ultimately was not enough to secure victory.

Mandhana and Rachel Priest got Storm's chase off to a flyer, reaching 39 in the fifth over. Priest hit Kate Cross for a six straight down the ground before the England seamer responded as Priest was caught by Kaur for 19.

But Mandhana's innings was effortlessly brilliant. She scored all around the ground, demonstrating power and timing to take 16 from Sophie Ecclestone in the sixth over to end the Powerplay at 57 for 1.

The left-hander's half-century came from just 27 balls, with eight fours and that six, and she just kept going. Mandhana put on 67 with Heather Knight - the England captain contributing just 11 before she was caught in the deep off Ecclestone in the 13th over.

At 106 for 2, that breakthrough gave Lancashire hope. And they built on that as Emma Lamb got the key wicket of Mandhana for 72, caught by Harmanpreet on the boundary to leave Storm 119 for 3 in the 15th over.

Alex Hartley then dismissed Fran Wilson for 14 and Lancashire were right in the contest, with Storm requiring 32 from the final 24 balls. But Deepti saw the visitors home with the winning boundary coming off Cross' penultimate delivery of the match.

Two boundaries came from the first three balls of the Thunder innings before England star Anya Shrubsole struck twice in consecutive deliveries to trap Sune Luus lbw for 4 and dismiss Sophia Dunkley for a first-ball duck.

McGrath played the anchor role in her partnership with Harmanpreet, allowing the India star to offer the firepower. Harmanpreet launched Sonia Odedra for the first six of the match in the seventh over and the fifty partnership came up in the ninth.

Odedra returned to the attack to be smashed for another six by Harmanpreet and her half-century came from just 36 balls. But she fell to the next delivery as Alex Griffiths held a sensational one-handed catch, back-pedalling at mid-off.

Georgie Boyce then departed for a duck, removed by Knight who also did for Emma Lamb after a breezy 18 from 10 balls to leave Lancashire 121 for 5 with four overs remaining. Shrubsole returned to claim her third wicket and end McGrath's innings at 44 from 45 balls and Ellie Threlkeld was run out by Knight as the wickets tumbled.

Ecclestone provided some valuable late acceleration, launching Shrubsole over the sight screen to take 12 from the penultimate over, and alongside Kate Cross added 24 from the final two overs.

Loughborough Lightning 135 for 4 (du Preez 38*) beat Yorkshire Diamonds 129 (Rodrigues 58, Matthews 2-19) by six wickets

Loughborough Lightning completed a third win in four matches to move ahead of Surrey Stars into third place in the Kia Super League, winning a low-scoring contest by six wickets with five balls to spare. South African star Mignon du Preez produced the match-winning innings for the second match running, following her 70 not out against Stars last week with an unbeaten 38 here, striking four sixes.

Indian teenager Jemimah Rodrigues top scored with 58 for the Diamonds, but a total of 129 all out from their 20 overs proved too little in the end, even though their bowlers did their best to defend it by taking the contest into the final over, England seamer Beth Langston conceding only 17 from her four overs.

Lightning took the upper hand early after Yorkshire had won the toss and opted to bat, the visitors losing both openers in the Powerplay overs in making 32. Lauren Winfield drove Jenny Gunn straight to Georgia Adams at mid-off before West Indies allrounder Hayley Matthews was rewarded for two tidy overs when Alyssa Healy holed out to deep midwicket, where Lucy Higham pouched a good catch after waiting for a towering shot to come down again.

Hollie Armitage, who had struggled against Matthews's offbreaks in the Powerplay, fared no better against Kirstie Gordon, the left-arm spinner, whose sixth delivery bowled her, Diamonds reaching the halfway point at 55 for 3.

Rodrigues and Alice Davidson-Richards steadied the ship, adding 35 in six overs, but a breakdown in communications cost the latter her wicket after Rodrigues set off for a quick single off Gordon, Sarah Glenn's throw from short backward square running the non-striker out comfortably.

The 18-year-old Rodrigues completed her half-century off 34 balls, having struck four boundaries, but lost another partner when Bess Heath miscued Bryce to mid-off before her fine innings ended when she found the hands of Matthews at deep midwicket.

She fell during a chaotic last two overs of the Diamonds innings, which saw 14 runs added but five wickets lost, three of them run out. In the midst of that, Matthews bowled Langston to finish with 2 for 19, her economy bettered only by Gordon, who took 1 for 14 from her four overs.

In reply, Lightning openers Matthews and Amy Jones picked up boundaries in five of the first six overs to be comfortably ahead of the game at 40 without loss, before Matthews missed one from legspinner Katie Levick that kept low.

A tight three overs by the lively left-armer Katie George put the brake on a little. Nonetheless, Lightning looked well placed at 58 for 1 at the halfway point, although they stumbled in the 13th over as Chamari Atapattu was run out and Jones caught behind off consecutive balls from Langston, leaving two new batsmen at the crease with 56 still needed.

The pressure was eased somewhat when George's final over went for 14, including a six by du Preez over the longest boundary, leaving Lightning needed 34 off the final five overs, although du Preez had been given a let-off on 7 when George could not hold on to what would have been a good return catch.

Du Preez struck her second maximum off New Zealand offspinner Leigh Kasparek and a third off Levick, either side of ex-Lightning left-arm spinner Linsey Smith dismissing her former captain, Georgia Elwiss, finishing the match by clouting Smith for her fourth six from the first ball of the final over.

Warwickshire 303 for 4 (Yates 139*, Rhodes 82) v Somerset

Rob Yates notched his maiden first-class century as Warwickshire took a commanding position on day one of their Specsavers County Championship match against second-placed Somerset at Edgbaston.

Closing on 303 for 4, the Bears were led by the 19-year-old academy product, who looked assured as he reached 139 not out from 286 balls, with 22 fours, passing his previous first-class best of 91, which came at the beginning of July at Hampshire.

At 32 days shy of his 20th birthday, No. 3 Yates became the youngest Warwickshire batsman to score a ton since Sam Hain, who at the age of 18 years and 336 days, reached the total in his fifth match against Northants in 2014.

Yates took his team to a position that might have seemed unlikely when Dom Sibley departed in the second over of the day. With plenty of eyes watching the 23-year-old ahead of the third Ashes Test at Headingley, Sibley found Roelof van der Merwe at gully, leaving the hosts 0 for 1 after just 10 balls.

But with a short boundary in front of the Eric Hollies Stand, Warwickshire frustrated Somerset with an impressive 153 partnership from 232 balls between Yates and opener Will Rhodes.

Rhodes, who would eventually depart for 82 from 117 balls after being caught behind off the bowling of Craig Overton, struck 13 fours and one six in addition to Yates' 10 fours.

That gave the Bears a platform and any Somerset hope of quick wickets were subsequently dashed by Hain. The England Lions batsman scored just 25 from 104 balls before edging to Steven Davies off van der Merwe, but he had continued to frustrate a Somerset side who used six bowlers.

The partnership between Hain and Yates was worth 89, leaving the hosts on 242 for 3 and Adam Hose next in.

With the new ball available after 80 overs, the visitors persevered for an extra 5.2 overs before changing during Jack Brooks' 14th over. The move brought success with Craig Overton trapping Hose lbw for 17 from 36 balls, 20 balls later, earning him his second wicket. But wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose followed the trend, striking two fours in a 28-run partnership with Yates.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears' search for a place kicker took another turn on Sunday when the team waived Elliott Fry.

Fry and fellow kicker Eddy Pineiro competed against each other for the job since Chicago opened camp on July 26, but coach Matt Nagy told reporters Sunday that Pineiro earned the opportunity to handle all kicks in practices and games over the final two weeks of the preseason.

"Both kickers for us had done a really good job competing," Nagy said. "It wasn't an easy decision for us. Both kickers had done a lot better [in the preseason] than where we thought they were in OTAs.

"But what this enables us to do now with two preseason games left is get more kicks [for Pineiro]. Now you're not splitting reps in the preseason game and I think there is a mental aspect too for Eddy with him now able to get out there and kick in these final two preseason games and get those reps. The volume will pick up for him. It's a great opportunity for him to see what he can do."

Pineiro went 2-for-2 on field goals (of 41 and 27 yards) in Chicago's preseason loss to the New York Giants on Friday night. Fry missed his lone attempt from 47 yards at MetLife Stadium, but did convert a 43-yard kick versus the Carolina Panthers in the Bears' exhibition opener.

Nagy, however, stopped short of declaring that Pineiro won the job outright.

"Like any position, we're always out there looking for the best," Nagy said. "Eddy hasn't attempted a kick in an NFL regular-season game, so like any player, that can go either really good or really bad. But we like where we are with him right now."

Pineiro was traded to the Bears after being signed by the Oakland Raiders in 2018.

"The way I look at it, I feel like I haven't won the competition," Pineiro said. "Everything's still open. Who knows if they bring somebody else in? But it does give me a confidence boost, like OK, I have a shot to be the guy and prove to the coaches that I can be the guy that they want me to be. So yeah, I feel a lot more confident, yeah."

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will not face charges from Las Vegas police for an alleged assault that occurred in May, according to Frank Salzano, one of Elliott's attorneys and agents.

On May 19, Las Vegas police briefly detained Elliott after an incident in which Kyle Johnson, a security guard at a music festival, was knocked to the ground. Elliott was released and apologized to Johnson. At the time, Johnson declined to press chargers but later filed a criminal complaint.

Two of Elliott's lawyers, Scott Rosenblum and Jason Lampert, released a statement in July in which they believed Johnson was attempting to extort Elliott.

The NFL investigated the incident as well, and Elliott met with commissioner Roger Goodell in New York. The league later said Elliott would not be penalized under the personal conduct policy. In 2017, Elliott was suspended for six games for an alleged assault involving a former girlfriend in Columbus, Ohio, even though no charges were brought in that case by law enforcement.

Elliott has yet to report to training camp and is subject to fines totaling more than $900,000 as he seeks a contract extension. He spent most of his time in Mexico, but returned to Texas over the weekend. The Cowboys returned to Dallas on Sunday morning after their 14-10 win against the Los Angeles Rams in Honolulu.

Their first practice at The Star in Frisco, Texas, will be Tuesday, and the front office hopes to pick up the pace on the negotiations with Elliott, as well as Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper.

MEDINAH, Ill. -- Phil Mickelson had a hasty start to the final round of the BMW Championship on Sunday, arriving at Medinah Country Club less than 40 minutes prior to his tee time, changing his shoes in the parking lot and scrambling to get warmed up.

Mickelson had been locked out of his nearby hotel room for 90 minutes because of a lightning strike that caused a fire and an evacuation. He tweeted about the circumstances and feared he might miss his tee time.

How's this for crazy? My hotel was struck by lighting, I was on top floor,we were evacuated and the place is on fire(only thing of mine on fire this week.) I can't get back into my room and may miss my tee time because I am without clubs and clothes.

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 18, 2019

Mickelson, 49, credited the power of social media with helping him make it. The PGA Tour got involved, as did local police. Mickelson's brother and caddie, Tim Mickelson, said Phil was soon allowed back into his room and would make the tee time. He was staying at the Eaglewood Resort & Spa hotel in Itasca, Illinois, adjacent to Medinah Country Club, so his journey was not far.

He was scheduled to tee off at 11:52 a.m. ET off the 10th tee, which is a considerable distance from the clubhouse and parking lot. He only had time to swing a weighted club in the parking lot, then to hit a few drivers and chips on the range before heading to the course.

Mickelson tweeted again that the "EMT's were awesome and I'm going to make it," and then joked that his clubs "acted as a fire retardant."

AUSTIN, Texas -- Former NFL and Texas running back Cedric Benson, one of the most prolific rushers in NCAA and University of Texas history, has died in a motorcycle crash in Texas. He was 36.

Benson's attorney, Sam Bassett, says Austin law enforcement told him that Benson was killed in a motorcycle crash Saturday night.

One of the top high school recruits in the country out of Midland, Texas, Benson was a key player in the Longhorns' resurgence under former coach Mack Brown. Benson played at Texas from 2001 to '04. He won the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back, in 2004.

His 5,540 rushing yards for the Longhorns still ranks second in school history, behind only Ricky Williams' total.

Brown and Williams posted on social media after learning of Benson's death.

Saddened by the reports on the passing of Cedric Benson. We've coached a lot of tough players but none were tougher than Cedric. He was a true spirit. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family on this sad day. pic.twitter.com/6afR0AFiJW

— Mack Brown (@CoachMackBrown) August 18, 2019

View this post on Instagram

Just learned that fellow Longhorn Cedric Benson has passed on to the other side. RIP to one of the greatest to have played for the University of Texas ?? #cedricbenson #hookem #runningbacks #thisistexas #rip @nufced

A post shared by Ricky Williams (@williams) on Aug 18, 2019 at 10:49am PDT

Tom Herman, the current coach at Texas also expressed his condolences.

"It's an unbelievably sad day with the news of the passing of Cedric Benson," Herman said in a statement. "We lost a true Longhorn Legend, one of the best running backs in college football history and a really special man. He was far too young, and my heart aches for his family, friends and the entire Longhorn community. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all."

Benson was drafted No. 4 overall by the Chicago Bears in 2005. He also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers.

He reached Super Bowl XLI with Chicago but had his best individual success in Cincinnati, topping 1,000 rushing yards three times. He had 6,850 career yards from scrimmage and 33 touchdowns.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We can't recommend enough the importance of taking part in some mock fantasy football drafts before your real ones arrive. It's easy (just click here and join one), doesn't take much time and gives you the chance to make mistakes that don't count, while getting a feel for where players may land in your specific league size and format.

That latter part is key, because player value changes dramatically based on how many managers are in your league, the makeup of your rosters and your scoring system.

To that point, the value of quarterbacks rose in our recent 10-team, 2-QB mock when compared to our 10-team PPR, 10-team non-PPR and 12-team PPR drafts that rostered only one starting QB.

This time around, we turned to a 12-team, 1-QB, non-PPR format -- and not surprisingly, with no bonus point for receptions, running backs ruled the early part of the first round. In fact, the top eight picks were running backs.

Throughout the draft, those whose value gets a big boost from receiving in PPR formats also took a hit. For example, Travis Kelce slipped out of the first round (No. 17), while James White (No. 57) and Tarik Cohen (No. 66), who make their fantasy mark catching passes, sank as well.

Meanwhile, with off-field questions, Melvin Gordon and Antonio Brown dropped all the way to No. 22 and 23, respectively. On the other hand, Keith Lipscomb snagged Ezekiel Elliott at No. 2 (over pass-catcher extraordinaire Christian McCaffrey), despite his current holdout, believing at this time that it will get worked out before Week 1.

Check out each of the picks below and compare them to our other mocks -- then go do your own mocks to warm up for the real ones.

The participants, in order of draft position, were:

Mike Triplett, Keith Lipscomb, André Snellings, Tom Carpenter, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Kyle Soppe, Matt Bowen, KC Joyner, Mike Clay, Field Yates, Jim McCormick and Eric Karabell