Australia batsman Steve Smith is expected to return in next week's tour match at Derbyshire as he continues his rehabilitation from a concussion.
Cricket Australia confirmed Smith had his third running session in three days and a first bat on Saturday since the drawn second Ashes Test at Lord's last week, when he was struck in the neck by a vicious Jofra Archer bouncer.
A delayed concussion sidelined the talismanic batsman for the ongoing Headingley Test but he is in line to come back into the side when the tourists visit Derbyshire for a three-day fixture which gets under way on Thursday.
Should he come through unscathed, Smith, who has compiled scores of 144, 142 and 92 in the series against England so far, will come into the reckoning for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, starting on September 4.
