India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is pleased at Virat Kohli's return to the team and is gearing for his normal and "easy" role as deputy, one he says he enjoys best by being in the back seat.

Rahane took over as stand-in captain, when Kohli left on paternity leave after the first Test of the Australia series, in Adelaide, and led India to a historic series victory that involved two Test wins and a draw. Rahane had only led India on two occasions before the Australia tour, but remains unbeaten as a Test captain.

"See, my job is to take a back seat and help Virat," Rahane said during a virtual media conference on Wednesday. "There are too many things on a captain's mind, so as a vice-captain you have to visualise a situation, think about what can happen in the game, and then if captain asks you for suggestions then you should be ready. So my job is really easy. I take a back seat. Whenever required I go and tell him...or whenever he asks me about certain things, I'll just go and tell him. That helps us a lot. For me, personally, I generally take a back seat when I'm vice-captain."

Even so, Rahane's likely to have had a slight responsibility as the leader of the team during the Australia series win: that of grounding the team and helping them move on to focussing on the upcoming home series against England.

"Australia was really special for us. We did enjoy our victory, especially that night in Brisbane and also when we came back home. But we are in the present now," Rahane said. "What we learnt from Australia was, after losing a match in Adelaide, how we came back. So it's all about staying in the moment. We respect the England team as well. We're not going to take them lightly. For us, what's important is playing a good brand of cricket, what we've been playing since the last two-three years. And play as a team and play as a unit. We're not taking anything for granted. It's all about taking one match at a time."

The cancellation of the series between Australia and South Africa this month has meant that New Zealand have become the first team to qualify for the World Test Championship final, with India being strong favourites to face them in the final at Lord's later this year. Rahane said New Zealand were deserving of the spot but said that the Indian team is only looking as far as this week's game in Chennai, reiterating that complacency was not an issue.

"We know every series, every game is really important, especially in the Test championship. What happened in Australia was really special but that is the past. We're thinking of this series, this game particularly, and taking it one game at a time," he said. "I don't think we have to think too much about complacency. We know what's our strength. We're still respecting the England team, they did really well in Sri Lanka. So basically we have to play good cricket, back our strengths and play as a team here."

Rahane was tight-lipped about team combinations and pitch conditions, saying we'd have to "wait and see" about both, while hinting that Hardik Pandya was working hard as "a batsman and a bowler" in the nets. The return of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer to the English team - both of whom were former team-mates of his at Rajasthan Royals - would not, he said, give England too much of an advantage.

"We play IPL with them but Tests and IPL are completely different," Rahane said. "We know how their bowlers come here and bowl, but like I said, lengths are completely different in the formats. It's not like we tell them everything [about strategy]. That's very important. IPL and Tests are completely different.

Several of India's players have been in a bubble since late August, just before the IPL began, and will likely have little time outside of bubbles any time soon, with the IPL shaping to be held in its regular March-April window. But, at the moment, Rahane said, there has been no mental faitgue.

"We are not mentally tired at all," he said. "We are really tough mentally. We are a unit, a family. We are enjoying each other's company here. We are spending time in the team room. Our families are here which is really important. So we are not at all tired"

Test cricket is set to return to free-to-air television in the UK for the first time in more than 15 years, after Channel 4 struck a deal with Star Sports, the global rights holders, to broadcast England's Test series against India.

The four-match series, which begins in Chennai on Friday, will be the first Tests to be shown by a terrestrial broadcaster in the UK since Channel 4 themselves hosted the fifth and final match of the 2005 Ashes.

However, the broadcaster did make a return to cricket in a one-off capacity for the 2019 World Cup final, when England's thrilling Super Over victory over New Zealand at Lord's attracted 15.4 million viewers over the course of the day.

Subsequent ECB research suggested that a third of that figure was watching cricket for the first time, and with the UK currently under national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Channel 4 are understood to be confident of attracting significant interest in a series that will be on air from 4am until past midday - and also features a day-night fixture that will begin at 9am UK time.

Channel 4's Chief Content Officer Ian Katz said: "This is fantastic news for all cricket fans in the UK. It's been a long 16-year wait for the return of live Test cricket to free to air television but it couldn't have come at a better time. What better antidote to the lockdown blues than an England Test series in sunny India."

Channel 4's Head of Sport Pete Andrews and Penny Mills, Head of Sports Rights, led the broadcaster's negotiations to secure the deal.

Andrews added: "We're delighted to be showing live Test cricket on Channel 4 again and given the recent performances of both sides this series is set to be a cracker. We're thrilled to have struck this deal with Star Sports."

Aside from the last Ashes series in Australia in 2017-18, which was shown on BT Sport, this will be the first overseas England Test not to have been shown on Sky Sports since their coverage of England cricket began on the tour of the Caribbean in 1989-90.

Channel 4 will take the world live feed commentary from Star, and is expected to announce its studio presentation team in due course.

Lewis Gregory has backed his Somerset team-mate Tom Lammonby to be signed in the Hundred draft this month following his breakout season in county cricket last summer.

Lammonby, a former England Under-19 captain, struggled in his first season in Somerset's T20 side in 2019 but flourished in the abbreviated 2020 season when he was handed an unexpected opportunity as an opener in the red-ball side.

His three Bob Willis Trophy hundreds - including 116 in the final against Essex and 107 not out against Worcestershire in a must-win group game - impressed those involved in England's pathway selection, while he maintained a strike rate of 177.94 in the T20 Blast, the third-highest in the competition out of batsmen with more than 100 runs.

And Gregory, who has been retained as Trent Rockets' captain on a contract worth £80,000 (plus a captaincy bonus), suggested that his team-mate was likely to attract attention from teams in the Hundred as a potential long-term pick thanks to his value as a finisher in the middle order and his left-arm medium pace.

"I think there will be quite a few teams after him, if I'm honest," Gregory said. "He's a brilliant kid, who works his absolute socks off. To see him contribute in the manner that he did last year - in both red-ball and white-ball cricket - was great.

"He's got a very, very high ceiling and he's going to keep developing and keep growing. He's got a very bright future and it won't be long before we're seeing him in an England shirt, [so] I've no doubt that there will be a few teams interested in him."

Gregory, Somerset's T20 captain, has spent his entire professional career at the club and admitted that he would find it "weird" to miss five weeks of the 2021 county season while playing in the Hundred. Those involved in the new tournament will miss the Royal London One-Day Cup next year, which will instead take on the role of a "development competition" between July and August.

"It will be weird, but you get used to playing in franchise competitions and developing as a team quite quickly," he said. "Naturally I'll see that Somerset are playing games in the 50-over comp and miss being around, but equally [the Hundred] is a new opportunity to go out and play on the global stage.

"That's an exciting prospect for anyone that's going to be involved in the competition. I think it will become the norm and something that we're used to very quickly."

Gregory's Trent Rockets side are one of three teams - alongside London Spirit and Southern Brave - who will make only two picks at the draft, which will take place between the second and third India vs England Tests later this month. They opted to retain the vast majority of the players they signed at the initial draft in October 2019, including their three overseas signings: Rashid Khan, D'Arcy Short and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Gregory said he has been involved in "a few conversations" regarding the Rockets' strategy but has largely left things to Stephen Fleming and Mick Newell, the side's head coach and general manager respectively. The two players they released were Harry Gurney - who was offered a new deal but opted to enter the draft instead - and Luke Fletcher, and they appear likely to sign two seamers in the draft as a result.

"It was a no-brainer, really," Gregory said of his decision to stay with the Rockets. "Trent Bridge is a place that I've really enjoyed playing cricket, so when the opportunity comes about to call that your home ground, I don't think you have to think about it too much.

"There's a lot of talent around English cricket at the moment and a lot of good county cricketers are going to miss out. There will be a lot of talent that's not playing in the Hundred, which shows that the standard of the competition will be one of the strongest across the world."

Gregory was speaking from his hotel room in Canberra, ahead of Brisbane Heat's fixture against Perth Scorchers on Thursday night, with the winner progressing to the Big Bash final. Having grown used to the competition's new rules this season, he suggested that the Hundred could look to incorporate the Power Surge - with the powerplay split into two blocks - and a bonus-point system in future years.

"I don't think it will be used initially but [the Power Surge] could easily be brought in. I'd be fine with that, as long as I'm not bowling in it. I've [also] enjoyed the Bash Boost point, which brings in a game within a game - you're not just looking at the final target but also the 10-over score. They're nice innovations and it'll be interesting to see how they develop over the next year or so. I can definitely see them being tried and tested around the world.

"I think four [powerplay] overs up front is potentially not long enough in a T20. I think you could either have five up front and one over at the back end, or even a five and a two. But it's created different perspectives on things, and brings a different dynamic. You stay in the game a little bit longer when you're chasing, knowing that there are two overs to capitalise on with only two men out, and you can make a charge a little bit later."

England bowler Chris Jordan says he hopes that by being a positive presence at the highest level the game can serve as inspiration for young people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

Cricket, especially in England, is increasingly under-fire for its lack of diversity, with former England batsman Michael Carberry saying last summer that "cricket is rife with racism" and that "the people running the game don't care about black people".

Carberry's comments forced the ECB to admit that "barriers to enjoying our sport exists", while Azeem Rafiq's litigation against Yorkshire over claims of discrimination and racial abuse led to the club issuing a statement that lifetime bans for anyone involved in "vile" threats on social media aimed at Rafiq, his family and his legal team.

Under-representation is a major aspect of cricket's issues in dealing with and precenting discrimination, and Jordan wants both his performances and professionalism to be something that leads the way for others to follow.

"So many different eyes are on you but the kind of eyes that I'm more concerned about are especially those younger kids from different backgrounds and varying backgrounds that might be looking up to me, who knows, for some inspiration. You try to set an example as much as possible," Jordan told ESPNcricinfo.

"Bearing that in mind, when I do step onto the field and you do find yourself in certain settings, you know that some of your actions and everything that you do, those kids might be looking towards you for that inspiration. So if they see me trying to continue to improve my game and continue to reach new heights and doing all these things and that inspires them then that's good enough for me."

The England bowler is so often the go-to guy for teammates looking for advice; the man able to not only lead his team but also unite it. Tom Banton this week explained how he would ask Jordan for an introduction to Nicholas Pooran, while Qalandars captain Sohail Akhtar described him as his team's "leader".

"[He's an] excellent human being, very supportive character," said Sohail after Jordan's 1-11 - including a wicket and just two runs from the ninth over of Bangla Tigers' chase that came up seven runs short - ensured the Qalandars maintained their perfect T10 League record in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking prior to that decisive performance with the ball for Qalandars, Jordan explained that the mentoring role is something he relishes and could be an avenue he explores whenever he hangs up his spikes.

"I do enjoy really working with younger players, I do enjoy encouraging them," Jordan said. "I'm always willing to share, I'm always trying to help just because I'm trying to live good with people in general and any bit of knowledge I can share or impart on anyone then I'm more than willing to do that.

"If that allows me to transition into a coaching role or mentorship role eventually then when that time comes, I think that I'll have enough information to make that decision but I stay in the movement as much as possible. I'm enjoying playing my cricket, I'm enjoying continuing to travel the world and continue to improve my skills as well so I'm putting all my energy into that."

WASHINGTON -- The nation's top infectious disease expert doesn't want the Super Bowl to turn into superspreading.

So when it comes to Super Bowl parties during the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci says people should "just lay low and cool it."

Fauci said during TV interviews Wednesday that now isn't the time to invite people over for watch parties, because of the possibility that they are infected with the coronavirus and could sicken others.

Big events like Sunday's game in Tampa, Florida, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are always a cause for concern over the potential for virus spread, Fauci said.

"You don't want parties with people that you haven't had much contact with," he told NBC's "Today" show. "You just don't know if they're infected, so as difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it."

The NFL has capped game attendance at 22,000 because of the pandemic and citywide coronavirus mandates.

On the first day of the final signing period for the 2021 class, Oregon added another ESPN 300 commitment in cornerback Avante Dickerson.

The 6-foot, 170-pound corner from Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska, is the No. 49-ranked prospect overall and was one of only four recruits left uncommitted in February inside the top 50 of the rankings.

He had been committed to Minnesota, and was the highest-ranked commit the Gophers have ever had, but he decommitted on Jan. 24 after not signing in December.

When he opened his recruitment back up, Dickerson was then considering Oregon, Nebraska and Minnesota, and ultimately chose the Ducks. His commitment adds to an already excellent recruiting class for Oregon, which was ranked No. 6 in the class rankings before his commitment.

Dickerson is now the highest-ranked commitment in the class for Oregon, 10 spots ahead of wide receiver Isaiah Brevard, who's at No. 59. His commitment gives the Ducks 16 ESPN 300 recruits, three of whom are defensive backs.

The staff already has built a foundation of young defensive players on the roster, having added 13 defensive ESPN 300 prospects over the past three classes. In the 2021 cycle, seven of the top eight commitments are on offense.

That includes quarterback Ty Thompson, wide receivers Brevard, Troy Franklin and Dont'e Thornton and running back Seven McGee.

Oregon has steadily been on the rise in recruiting rankings over the past few cycles under head coach Mario Cristobal, and the 16 ESPN 300 commitments in this class are the most the program has signed since the ESPN 300 started in 2013.

No. 46 Davis commits to Trojans: USC also added a top-50 commitment to its class with linebacker Raesjon Davis, the No. 46 prospect overall.

Davis chose the Trojans over Ohio State, LSU, Oregon and Vanderbilt. USC now has commitments from three of the top four in-state recruits, including defensive end Korey Foreman, the No.-1 ranked prospect in California.

USC, which finished No. 54 overall last year, has made a major jump to a top-15 class this year. The staff made a concerted effort to keep the top recruits out west at USC.

USC had only one ESPN 300 commitment in the 2020 cycle. In 2021, the coaching staff has 10 with Davis in the class.

Some clinicians tasked with evaluating the eligibility of former NFL players for compensation from the league's landmark 2013 concussion settlement worry that the testing process and protocols discriminate against Black players, an ABC News investigation published Wednesday has found.

The New York Times reported in August that two Black former players -- defensive end Kevin Henry and running back Najeh Davenport -- filed a lawsuit against the NFL, accusing the league of "explicitly and deliberately" discriminating against Black players filing dementia-related claims.

At issue is a process called "race-norming," which has been used by scientists for decades as a way to correct for the lower levels of education often found in minority communities. It was designed to prevent the overdiagnosis of cognitive impairment in these communities, but according to Henry and Davenport's lawsuit, when applied to the NFL concussion settlement, it is having the opposite effect -- making it more difficult for players to show cognitive decline.

When former players file a claim for compensation, they undergo a battery of testing to measure their cognitive functioning. Those scores are compared against a baseline score, or "norm," meant to represent a normal level of cognitive functioning. If the scores fall far enough below that norm, the player is eligible for compensation. But the norm for Black players is lower than the one for white players.

While adjusting for race is not a requirement for clinicians evaluating former players, according to ABC News, the manual outlining testing protocols recommends a "full demographic correction," which includes age, gender and race.

According to ABC's findings, which partly relied on emails from a professional listserv, some clinicians involved in the settlement are now questioning whether the recommendation to adjust for race is, in practice, a requirement.

The clinicians, ABC's investigation found, wrote that the league's protocols superseded their professional judgment, sometimes leading to a "drastically different outcome" for former players seeking help. In the emails reviewed by ABC News:

• One neuropsychologist claimed the league's program manual offered no such flexibility: "I don't think we have the freedom to choose," the clinician wrote. "If we do, apparently many of us have been doing it wrong."

• Another wrote about their possible complicity in a system that perpetuated "racial inequity" in payouts: "Especially in the correct [sic] of our current state of affairs, I'm realizing and feeling regretful for my culpability in this inadvertent systemic racism issue," the clinician wrote. "As a group we could have been better advocates."

• Another contended that while their "required reliance on these norms is spelled out in the manual," it was still up to them to consider the consequences of their compliance: "Bottom line is that the norms do discriminate against Black players," the clinician wrote. "So now what? In this time of reckoning, like many professions, I think we need to look closely at the expected and unexpected ramifications of our practices."

The NFL disputed the findings, saying in a statement that the concussion settlement was "agreed to by all parties, with the assistance of expert neuropsychological clinicians and approved by the courts more than five years ago" and "relied on widely accepted and long-established cognitive tests and scoring methodologies."

"The settlement seeks to provide accurate examinations to retired players," an NFL spokesperson said, "and thus permits, but does not require, independent clinicians to consider race in adjusting retired players' test scores as they would in their typical practice."

The attorney who represented players in the class-action lawsuit that spurred the concussion settlement, Christopher Seeger, issued a statement to ABC News through a spokesperson that called on the court overseeing the administration of the settlement to issue a "clarification" on the issue.

"The use of race-based demographic norms is ultimately left to the clinical judgment of the neuropsychologist and is not mandated by the settlement," Seeger said in the statement. "To the extent that there is any perceived confusion, we would support a clarification from the Court to make it clearer that the use of demographic adjustments, including for race, is not required, and that the neuropsychologist examining a player should use their professional judgment to select the appropriate demographic adjustments to apply to the player's test results."

The NFL Players Association, the labor union representing current and former players, declined to comment.

ABC News reporters Pete Madden, Cho Park and Ryan Smith contributed to this report.

Free-agent pitcher Chase Anderson has reached a one-year, $4 million agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies, a source familiar with the contract told ESPN on Wednesday.

Anderson, 33, went 1-2 with a 7.22 ERA in 10 appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020, including seven starts. The Phillies signed Anderson to compete as a starter, as he'll be stretched out during spring training.

The seven-year veteran had his best season with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012, when he went 12-4 with a 2.74 ERA. Toronto acquired Anderson in a November 2019 trade with Milwaukee.

Anderson, a right-hander, had initial interest from seven teams and was negotiating with three of them, a source told ESPN. The deal is pending a physical and can pay him an extra $250,000 in incentives.

The Phillies on Wednesday also made official their signing of left-hander Matt Moore, who pitched in Japan last year.

The calendar says the Major League Baseball offseason is just about over, but the calendar is telling us an incomplete story. What we have are questions, many questions. Will spring training really start this month? Should it? When are the rest of the free agents going to sign? What, exactly, are the rules going to be? Monday's MLBPA rejection of MLB's proposal to delay the 2021 season suggests that structurally, we're looking at a renewal of 2019 baseball, at least at the big league level, but is that really going to happen? Universal DH? Roster sizes? Length of the schedule?

Within this miasma of uncertainty we begin the process of making an appraisal of the work teams have done since the Los Angeles Dodgers ended their World Series title drought on Oct. 27. We're going to look at how each team's offensive attack looks, right now, on paper. The "right now" aspect is important to keep in mind because the numbers will change.

Nelson Cruz went off the board late Tuesday, but premium bats remain, such as that of Marcell Ozuna, whose market is highly affected by the limbo over the designated hitter question. Also, because the free-agent market has only recently begun flowing, it's also possible that another Nolan Arenado-level trade surprise lies waiting to be sprung. So this is both a snapshot of how the offenses across baseball currently stack up and a kind of wake-up call for some clubs eyeing the good bats still available.

Now on to our rankings of MLB's offenses, as they stand today:

Small selection events at Lee Valley, Loughborough and Manchester on February 20-21 will help UKA pick team for European Indoors

Qualification for next month’s European Indoor Championships in Toruń became a little clearer today (Feb 3) for British athletes after UK Athletics announced its selection criteria for the event.

After the cancellation of the British Indoor Championships in Glasgow, three micro meetings on February 20-21 will be the official ‘European Indoor Selection Trials’ – with the GB team announced on February 22.

As previously reported, the meetings will be at Lee Valley and Loughborough, with Manchester confirmed ahead of Sheffield as the third venue.

READ MORE: Micro-meeting qualifiers for European Indoors

Athletes who wish to be considered for the European Championships in Toruń do not have to do the trials events, but they must hit the qualifying standard for their event at least once and also show current form.

UKA say its main priority when picking a team is to “maximise the number of opportunities to win medals” followed by providing opportunities for developing athletes and also for established athletes to achieve British vest.

There is a special clause, too, which allows some unqualified athletes to be picked “due to the limited qualification opportunities” but only in field events – and these athletes must take part in one of the trials events and have ‘top eight potential’.

In addition, selection chances are weighted in favour of funded athletes because unless you carry an elite athlete exception you will be unable to train on a track or in a gym let alone travel to a competition this month.

British relay teams have already been invited by European Athletics. A similar system operates for combined events, with Olympic champion Nafi Thiam and world record-holder Kevin Mayer among those invited to Toruń.

British combined eventers will get the chance to qualify at the trials meeting in Manchester although reigning European indoor champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson is currently recovering from an Achilles injury.

Big British stars like Laura Muir and Mo Farah – both with European indoor titles under their belt from the past – are also set to miss the event. But UKA seems keen to pick a strong team with Dina Asher-Smith likely to lead the GB medal hopes in the Polish city in less than a month’s time.

The selection criteria can be seen here but UKA adds: “At the time of publication, the impact of Covid-19 is immense, unpredictable and unknown”, which means the governing body can amend the criteria at its discretion.

Toruń is not totally guaranteed to happen either and, even if it does, there will no spectators. This week the European Throwing Cup in Portugal on March 13-14 was cancelled and this month’s RAK Half-Marathon in the United Arab Emirates has also bitten the dust.