Jofra Archer will be given the chance to prove his Ashes fitness by playing in a T20 Blast game for Sussex this Friday, and a three-day Second XI game next week.

Archer was named in England's 14-man squad for the first Test at Edgbaston, but was omitted from the final XI as he continued his rehabilitation from a side strain he had suffered during the World Cup.

"Jofra is coming back from quite a serious injury," said England's captain, Joe Root, explaining his omission. "We looked at conditions and made a decision on what we thought would best take 20 wickets here.

"It also gives him time to get absolutely ready and fit to make sure he has his workloads up and ready to go for later in the series if he needs to make an impact. [His fitness] will be monitored throughout the week. It's important that he's ready to go to offer something different."

Archer was one of the stars of England's World Cup win, taking 20 wickets at 23.05 before bowling the decisive Super Over in the final against New Zealand, but admitted he had played through "excruciating" pain during the tournament.

After a brief trip back to his native Barbados, Archer took 2 for 21 in his four overs in Sussex's tied T20 Blast game against Surrey before joining up with the Test squad.

Archer has been released to play in Sussex's game against Kent on Friday night, and will then make his first appearance in the Second XI Championship since 2016 when he plays against Gloucestershire at Blackstone, a game which starts on Tuesday.

Sussex also have a T20 against Glamorgan that day, but Archer will instead have the chance to prove he is fit enough to bowl longer spells with the red ball.

It had been suggested that Archer might be loaned to Worcestershire to play in their tour game against Australia, as has happened with Andrew Strauss (Somerset), Nick Compton (Worcestershire), and James Taylor (Sussex) in previous years, but he will instead be kept away from the limelight in rural West Sussex.

Olly Stone and Sam Curran, the other unused members of England's Edgbaston squad, have also been released to play in the Blast on Friday night.

Stone will join up with the Birmingham Bears squad for their game at Trent Bridge, while Curran will play for Surrey at Taunton.

Eoin Morgan returns to Lord's for his first appearance since the final tonight in Middlesex's game against Kent, while Adil Rashid has been included in Yorkshire's Blast squad for the first time this season for Friday night's fixture against Worcestershire.

England are likely to be without James Anderson for the remainder of the first Test after he experienced a recurrence of tightness in his right calf.

Anderson, the leading wicket-taker in England's Test history, first tore his right calf muscle while playing for Lancashire against Durham at Sedburgh on July 2. While the England management were confident he had fully recovered from the injury, he experienced further discomfort during his fourth over of the match at Edgbaston and left the field for treatment.

ALSO READ: Jofra Archer given chance to prove Ashes fitness in Sussex games

While he returned to the pitch a short while later, he did not bowl again and the England management have now said he will undergo a scan on Thursday afternoon. If that scan shows any new tear, there is a strong chance that Anderson will be ruled out of the next two or three Tests. Even if it does not, it is hard to imagine England will risk worsening the injury by asking Anderson to bowl.

The news is bound to raise questions about the wisdom of playing Anderson, who celebrated his 37th birthday earlier this week, and the medical advice the management received. He has, however, bowled without discomfort in training - notably on Monday, when he was one of three players who appeared at an optional net session - though England's preparations were hit by poor weather and he may not have bowled the number of overs ahead of the game that might have been envisaged. England were forced to train indoors on Tuesday, where most of the seamers did not bowl due to concerns about the risk of impact issues, while the nets were damp on Wednesday, which meant most bowlers having gentle sessions on the outfield.

England were tempted to name Jofra Archer in their team for this first Test. The management reasoned, however, that it would be a risk to go into a game with two bowlers coming back from injury.

If - as is likely - Anderson is unable to bowl for the rest of the game, it will reduce England to a four-man attack of Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes plus the offspin of Moeen Ali. And while England would, in normal circumstances, be thought to have enjoyed the best of the first session of the series - Australia were three down at lunch - concern over the extent of Anderson's injury will take much of the gloss off that bright start.

Shakib Al Hasan thinks it's time for Bangladesh to adopt a rotation policy to ensure their top cricketers remain fit and refreshed.

He wants the players, coaching staff and the BCB to be on the same page should such a policy come into effect. He believes this will also help unearth newer players good enough for the top level.

"When these breaks are in place, you can give more opportunity to players and you will have players in the pipeline as well," Shakib said. "So we have to plan by looking at the bigger picture. I am just talking about part of it, but we will definitely discuss this in more details.

"I will give you an example from India. Their players had the least injuries in their history last year. One of the main reason was their rotation policy. It helped them build many players who got exposure. At the same time, their players were fresh when they came to the side. Everyone, including Virat Kohli, got rested for one of the formats."

Shakib, who was granted a break by the BCB for the short ODI series in Sri Lanka, also wants the players to come forward and tell the team management that they are not fit enough. He also called for the coaching staff, including the physio and trainer, to gauge when a player is not fit to play a match or series.

Bangladesh got through their World Cup campaign with several injured players including captain Mashrafe Mortaza, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman and Mosaddek Hossain.

The BCB, however, had named all of them in the initial 14-man squad for the recently concluded Sri Lanka series which the visitors lost three-zip. Changes were made when Mashrafe aggravated his hamstring injury during a training camp while Saifuddin's back problem persisted, and both had to be replaced on the eve of their departure to Colombo.

Batting and bowling weren't up to the mark in the three-match series but Bangladesh's lackluster performance was as much down to poor body language and several fielding errors. It suggested that many of the players were tired after a long World Cup and since performance and fitness are so closely connected, Shakib said that breaks are imperative.

"A player can't play all the time, they need to take breaks. The responsibility falls on both sides. It is also the responsibility to understand. A player is saying that I need or a break, or the coaching staff is telling a player, you need a break. So both sides must understand."

Before the Sri Lanka-bound squad was named, there was a strong case for the BCB to give few players a break to allow them to regain fitness and form. Shakib said that giving established players breaks would also mean that there would be opportunities to test fringe players.

But he also stressed that to avoid controversy, the communication should be clear between the players, coaches and the cricket board. "If we are to do this, we must have very good coordination between coaching staff, board and players," he said. "Otherwise there will be criticism if the right message is not sent."

Shakib, however, remained hopeful things can turn around in Bangladesh cricket if a long-term plan is put in place.

"I am sure the BCB are planning for the next three or four years. We have already appointed two coaches, and once all of them get together, the BCB can put forth their strategy. If we can work together, I think our cricket can go forward like it did in the last four years."

Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, has said that the absence of cricket from state schools is "nowhere near good enough" as the governing body looks to capitalise on the "inspirational moment that can spark that interest in the game" provided by the World Cup final.

Speaking to Sky during the first Ashes Test, Harrison pledged to double the number of state schools playing cricket in the next five years, and said the sport needed to shed its "tag of privilege" in the UK.

"We've got an outstanding partnership with Chance to Shine, which enables us to reach around 22% of state schools in this country at the moment," Harrison said, "[but] that is nowhere near good enough for us. We need to double that over the next five years at least, and make sure that we're reaching out to girls and boys.

"There are sports that do it very well… that we're talking to now to enable us to get that scale and that reach across schools, and make sure we give kids the opportunity."

Harrison also claimed that cricket was competing "with everything" - including console games such as Fortnite - for young people's attention.

"It's all a big challenge trying to capture kids' imaginations and young people's imaginations," he said. "We are competing with everything. We've had a lot of news about Fortnite recently in the news - that's the kind of competitive landscape that we're in.

"We've got a plan - it's called 'Inspiring Generations'. We launched it at the start of the year, [and] it's literally kicking off right now using the Ashes and the World Cup as a platform for growing the game.

"It's all about transforming the women's and girls' game in this country, and looking again at our schools strategy, because we're not comfortable about where we're at with schools in this country."

Harrison praised the make-up of the crowds at the World Cup, and said that cricket needs to eschew its reputation as an elitist sport.

"Cricket is a wonderful game that somehow carries around this tag of privilege in this country," he said. "It's something we need to shed and get away from as quickly as possible, and that's what we're doing.

"Our country is changing, and so the game needs to change, as we've proved over decades that it can do. One of the great things about this World Cup is that we were filling grounds with vibrant, colourful, diverse crowds - noisy, amazing crowds that we want coming back to our grounds as often as possible."

Harrison claimed that cricket had already enjoyed a post-World Cup bounce, highlighting strong sales in Vitality Blast tickets, and claimed that the ECB had seen "people writing in and saying 'my family have never really looked at cricket as being an option', and suddenly it's something that their kids are talking about, they want to play, they want to be part of".

Despite their apparent marginalisation to open up a window for The Hundred from next year, he said that the ECB have "got to put our counties at the heart of the challenge to grow the game in this country", and to ensure "that our county clubs are filling grounds across the country more regularly and for more formats of the game".

He also highlighted the role of the ECB's South Asian community programme, and said England "have got an incredibly diverse team that won the World Cup and that's playing in this Ashes Test right now" - despite the fact that ten of the side for the Edgbaston Test are white British and six were privately educated.

The defending national champion Clemson Tigers start the season the way they finished in January -- atop the Amway Coaches Poll.

The Tigers received 59 of 65 first-place votes in the poll, released Thursday, giving them the top spot in the preseason coaches ranking for the first time in school history. No. 2 Alabama received the other first-place votes.

The 1-2 ranking for Clemson and Alabama comes as little surprise heading into the season, as both teams are favorites to make it back to the College Football Playoff, with the potential to meet for the fifth straight time in the playoffs. The programs have split the past four national championships.

One of the biggest reasons so many expect them to make a run at another title hinges on their respective quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence returns to Clemson, while Tua Tagovailoa is ready to put his performance in the national championship game behind him to lead Alabama again.

If Nick Saban needs any extra motivation to give his team, beyond its 44-16 loss to the Tigers in January, this one might work: This is the first time since 2015 that Alabama is not No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll.

As for the rest of the top five, Georgia will start the season at No. 3, while Oklahoma is No. 4 and Ohio State is No. 5. The same five teams also opened the 2018 season in the preseason Top 5. Three of them -- Clemson, Alabama and Oklahoma -- made the playoff.

Could Oklahoma join them again? Anticipation is high with former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts taking over for Kyler Murray with the Sooners.

There are not many surprises rounding out the top 10, with No. 6 LSU followed by Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame and Texas.

As for conference breakdown, the Big Ten leads the way with seven ranked teams, followed by the SEC with six. Washington is the highest-ranked Pac-12 team, at No. 12. Among the Power 5 conferences, the ACC has the fewest ranked teams, with two.

The only ranked Group of 5 team is UCF, checking in at No. 17. The Knights, expected to start Notre Dame transfer Brandon Wimbush at quarterback, are attempting to go undefeated in the regular season for the third straight year.

Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Wagner says she was sexually assaulted by John Coughlin, becoming the latest figure skater to make an accusation against the former U.S. skater.

Wagner, 28, detailed the June 2008 assault to USA Today Sports this week, saying she was 17 when the then-22-year-old Coughlin climbed into bed with her, kissed her and groped her without her permission. She said the incident occurred after a party at the U.S. team's figure skating camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

"I was absolutely paralyzed in fear," Wagner told the newspaper.

After several minutes, Wagner said she grabbed Coughlin's hand and told him to stop. At that point, he left the room.

Wagner, a three-time national champion who is now retired from competitive skating, also wrote about the assault in a first-person piece for USA Today.

"I now know that regardless of the events of that night, I got into that bed thinking I was safe to just fall asleep. He was the one who took away that safety," Wagner wrote. "I went into that house just wanting to have fun with my friends. He was the one who shattered all of that."

Coughlin died by suicide in January, a day after he received an interim suspension from the U.S. Center for SafeSport and U.S. Figure Skating for unspecified conduct. He was 33.

He was accused by three people of sexual misconduct at the time of his suspension. Two of those accusations came from minors, according to USA Today, including one from his former pairs teammate Bridget Namiotka.

Wagner detailed her accusation to U.S. Figure Skating in February.

"What happened to Ashley should not happen to anyone, period," USFS spokeswoman Barbara Reichert told USA Today in a statement. "Ashley is incredibly strong; not just to have the courage to come forward with her story, but to share her experience publicly to help others."

Wagner said she and Coughlin never discussed the incident again.

She said she feared speaking out earlier because she competes in a sport where judges determine success. She told the newspaper two factors helped change her mind: the emergence of the #MeToo movement and Coughlin's coaching suspension.

"I didn't really genuinely process what this was until the start of the #MeToo movement," Wagner told USA Today. "Hearing other women come forward with their stories, it kind of made me reflect on this experience in a completely different manner. I had always felt violated but something within that movement really showed me that I was violated and I did have my safety and comfort taken away from me that night."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Melvin Gordon's agent told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he requested last week that the Los Angeles Chargers trade the running back after the team remained at its initial offer of approximately $10 million per season.

Agent Damarius Bilbo told Anderson that Chargers general manager Tom Telesco told him the Pro Bowl running back is still viewed as family and that Bilbo was not given permission to seek trade partners.

Last year, Bilbo was able to persuade the Miami Dolphins to move his client Jarvis Landry in a trade. Landry received the franchise tag and was then traded to the Cleveland Browns.

Gordon is holding out from training camp as he seeks a new contract. Last week, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Gordon's holdout is expected to be prolonged and threatens to last into the season.

The 26-year-old Gordon is scheduled to be in the final year of his contract, a fifth-year option worth $5.6 million.

Top-30 recruit MarJon Beauchamp plans to skip college and instead work out with a training program to prepare for the 2021 NBA draft.

Beauchamp will begin the yearlong program at Chameleon BX following his senior year of high school. He will attend Dream City Christian (Arizona) for his final high school season.

"It's 100 percent," Beauchamp said of his decision.

Chameleon BX is a San Francisco-based training program developed by Frank Matrisciano, who worked at Memphis from 2011-14 and has worked with the likes of Blake Griffin.

"It's a 12-month plan, strictly will be training and getting my body where it needs to be," Beauchamp said. "Just living like a pro these whole 12 months, learning responsibilities and working with NBA coaches who had experience, I think it's the best route for me."

Beauchamp, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Seattle, is ranked No. 29 in the ESPN 100 for the 2020 class. He's the No. 5 small forward in the country.

Arizona, Washington, Alabama and others had extended scholarship offers to Beauchamp.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat has been added to USA Basketball's national team roster for the FIBA World Cup, while Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and Montrezl Harrell of the Los Angeles Clippers have withdrawn from the squad.

Adebayo's addition means the national team has 16 players in advance of training camp that starts Monday in Las Vegas. The U.S. will take 12 players to China later this month for the World Cup, which starts Aug. 31.

Also Thursday, USA Basketball announced the addition of Memphis' Jaren Jackson Jr. to the select team for training camp. The select team, which will work out against the national team next week in Las Vegas, now has 14 players.

Oklahoma City and forward Patrick Patterson have agreed to a buyout on the final season of his contract, allowing him to become a free agent, league sources tell ESPN.

Once his $5.7 million deal clear waivers this week, Patterson's intention is to sign with the LA Clippers, league sources tell ESPN.

The Clippers, with two available roster spots, are constructing a frontcourt bench to support its two new forwards - Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Patterson, 30, was never able to find consistent traction in a role with the Thunder in his two seasons there. He averaged less than 10 minutes a game - far different than the impactful the previous three seasons with the Toronto Raptors. In nine NBA seasons, Patterson has averaged nearly seven points and four rebounds. He's had stops with the Rockets, Kings, Raptors and Thunder.