Tamim Iqbal has requested for a break from cricket. The 30-year old opener had gone to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, seeking some time off in early August and ESPNcricinfo understands that it has now been approved. As a result, he will miss next month's one-off Test against Afghanistan and the T20I tri-series which follows, making it the first time he will not be available for Bangladesh barring injuries.

It follows the BCB's decision to give Shakib Al Hasan a break during last month's ODI series against Sri Lanka. They had also allowed Shakib time off during the 2017 Test series against South Africa. On both occasions, the allrounder had made the request which was then granted.

Tamim, who will leave the country for a physical fitness camp, will be available for Bangladesh's next assignment, a tour of India in November when they play three T20Is and two Tests.

ALSO READ: Out-of-form Tamim needs patience, and a spot of luck, says batting guru Jamie Siddons

In his letter to the BCB, Tamim asked for a "mental break" after he had gone through a tough time in the last three months. Apart from an ordinary World Cup campaign in which he scored only one fifty, and a disastrous ODI series against Sri Lanka, in which he also led Bangladesh, Tamim was subject to vilification on social media.

During the 2019 World Cup, Tamim spoke about the demons of the 2015 tournament, in which he made only 154 runs in six innings, and was then subject to abuse on social media. Tamim said those memories affected his preparation for this year's event in England, leading to a pattern where he was bowled in six consecutive ODI innings.

After his match-winning 141 in the BPL final in February, Tamim had a rough time in the ODIs in New Zealand before bouncing back superbly in the Tests. He then continued his good form during the tri-series in Ireland, scoring crucial runs before slowly going off the boil in the World Cup, culminating in a woeful Sri Lanka series.

The formation of a governing board and an overhaul of the domestic structure are two of the major changes in the PCB's freshly amended constitution. It has become a somewhat familiar sight; this is the fifth time since 1995 and the fourth in the last 12 years that the PCB constitution has been amended. The new legislation curtailed the almost dictatorial powers the chairman of the PCB had, passing most of them on to the newly appointed managing director to share power more effectively and reduce conflicts of interest, making it consistent with best governance practices.

Chairman Ehsan Mani initiated the changes after identifying anomalies in previous constitutions written in 2014 under his predecessor Najam Sethi. Until now, chairmen had the authority to act as executives of the board who tried to implement policy they had proposed themselves, which according to Mani was a conflict of interest. The new constitution, a copy of which ESPNcricinfo has obtained, has tackled every pertaining governance loophole related to the administration of cricket and the functioning of its governing body.

It not only restructured the PCB governing body, making it more independent, but also aimed to increase transparency and overhauled the domestic cricket structure, officially putting an end to the departmental cricket.

How is the domestic structure different from any previous ones?

In total, only six provinces - Balochistan, Central Punjab, South Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Northern - will be eligible to play first class cricket. Otherwise, domestic cricket in Pakistan has been played among departments and regions for nearly 50 years, starting in the early 1970s, when Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistan's first Test captain and then PCB chairman, encouraged organisations like Habib Bank Limited, Sui Southern Gas Corporation, Water and Power Development Authority and others to provide employment opportunities for players.

However, the country's Prime Minister Imran Khan - who is also patron-in-chief of the PCB - was always in favour of a system which exclusively consisted of regional teams with the broader points of the revamp championed by him.

The new constitution, however, still allows departments to maintain a foothold in the domestic game. They have the opportunity to act as sponsors of domestic teams, though they lose the ability to play any national tournaments in Pakistan. The territorial region of each of six cricket associations is based on the bifurcation of each province in the country, and the PCB will fund them with the help of a principal sponsor approved for an initial period of up to five years. The departments who had up to now maintained cricket teams - like, for instance, HBL or SNGPL - will, according to the constitution, "be allowed first right of refusal to be the principle sponsor of the Cricket Association and the City cricket Association".

All cricket associations will be constituted as registered societies under the Societies Act and will be given a model constitution by the PCB. To start with, cricket associations will be organised by the PCB board of governors for a tenure of one year. Subsequently, the tenure will be overseen by the associations' own constitutions, which must be framed in line with the prescribed model constitution.

New formation of Board of Governors

The most significant amendment concerns revamping the formation of the Board of Governors (BoG) membership. The new constitution reduces the numerical strength of the cricket playing associations from eight to three to offset their influence - this has been done by bringing in four independent directors in keeping with best corporate governance practices.

Earlier, the composition of the BoG included four regional representatives (top four regional teams from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy) and four representatives of services organisations (top four departmental teams). But in April this year, when several members attempted to have the managing director Wasim Khan removed from his post led to concerns the current system left the PCB vulnerable to such future angles of attack, with such a change always in the offing.

But now a 12-member board will have two direct nominees by the patron, a move that sees power consolidated at the top and stripped from the teams that play domestic competitions. Three members from the amongst the Cricket Associations, being the elected Presidents (on rotation basis after every three years), four independent directors (at least one of whom shall be female and named by the nomination committee of the Board), one federal secretary (non-voting member), the CEO and the Chairman.

PCB - one-man show no more

The PCB had often been criticised in the past because its constitution allowed the chairman near-dictatorial powers. Since 2007, the chairman held executive power and could control and oversee income and expenditure, form the selection committee, make appointments including the heads of such committees, the captains, vice-captains of the national cricket teams (men and women) and hold authority for final approval and finalise cricket teams picked by the selection committees. These were roles that in best management practices have been left to Chief Executive Officers instead of chairmen, because the executive authority effectively undermined the day-to-day management of the board.

The chairman, however, still holds sizeable power, but it has more to do with overarching policy decisions. The chairman no more holds a final say in selection of national teams for any series or event, or the power of naming a captain and vice captain, with the CEO overseeing that responsibility, and the chairman only allowed the final say, for which the chairman will be briefed by the CEO. In the new legislation, the CEO will be in charge of day to day management and shall exercise administrative control over the personnel of the Board.

Transition from old to new Board

The new constitution draft has been approved by the Federal government cabinet and will be notified in due course. The present BoGs will continue till the four new members are appointed. Once those four are appointed, all members of the existing BoG (except the chairman and nominees of the patron) shall cease to be so. The quorum for a meeting in this time of transition will be any of the five members.

When the changes go through, the current managing director Wasim Khan will assume the post of CEO, while the two nominees of the patron to the PCB - Ehsan Mani and Asadullah - will remain on the board of governors. All other position holders at the PCB will remain unaffected by the new constitution.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has suspended Mohammad Shahzad's contract for an indefinite period due to a breach of the board's code of conduct.

According to an ACB release, Shahzad did not adhere to a policy that requires players to seek the board's permission before travelling out of the country.

In addition, the ACB said Shahzad had been summoned to meet the board's disciplinary committee on July 20 and 25, "in relation to a disciplinary matter during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019", and had failed to show up. The disciplinary committee, the release stated, would meet after the Eid holiday to decide on further sanctions.

ESPNcricinfo understands Shahzad is based in Peshawar, Pakistan, and was recently seen practising there. Last year, the ACB had fined Shahzad and asked him to relocate to Afghanistan permanently or risk having his contract terminated.

Shahzad spent his early years in a refugee camp in Peshawar, but his parents are originally from Nangrahar, Afghanistan. Like many of his Afghanistan team-mates, Shahzad grew up near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; he was also married in Peshawar. A significant number of Afghans, once refugees, now reside in Pakistan, mainly in Peshawar, registered in the country as temporary residents.

The suspension is the latest development in a testing phase in Shahzad's career. In June, he was sent home early from the World Cup in England, ostensibly with a knee injury, but the wicketkeeper-batsman insisted he was fit and claimed he had been unfairly left out.

Another fantasy football season is upon us, and whether you play a casual redraft league or a hard-core deep dynasty format, a traditional or a modified scoring format, with your friends, your family or your co-workers, we know that no two leagues are truly the same. With that in mind, we've gathered all of our best material in one place: Rankings and cheat sheets for PPR and non-PPR, mock drafts for various league types, sleepers for this season or dynasty, and plenty of helpful information and tips from our expert team of fantasy football analysts.

Whether you have been doing this for years or are a fantasy first-timer, we have everything you need to help you draft a great team and start the season with a shot at a championship.

Below you'll find all of our best content, updated frequently from now until the Packers and Bears kick off on Sept. 5. Enjoy, and good luck this season!

Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets, Depth Charts, Mock Drafts

Cheat Sheet Central
A collection of downloadable, printable cheat sheets for the 2019 fantasy football season, including PPR, non-PPR and dynasty/keeper leagues. Perfect for your drafts.

2019 projections
Mike Clay's projected output for players at every fantasy position, able to be sorted by specific category.

Custom Dollar Value Generator
Apply ESPN's projections to your league's roster and scoring settings and receive a custom set of dollar values for use in auctions or as an alternate set of overall rankings.

Depth charts: Offense | Defense

Mock drafts: 10-team PPR, 2-QB (Aug. 9) | 12-team PPR (Aug. 2) | 10-team non-PPR (July 25) | 10-team PPR (June 20) | 12-team PPR (May 6)

PPR rankings

Matthew Berry: Top 200 and by position
Mike Clay: Top 300 and by position
Tristan H. Cockcroft: Top 200 and by position
Eric Karabell: Top 100 and by position
Field Yates: Top 100 and by position

Non-PPR rankings

Matt Bowen: By position
Clay: Top 300

Dynasty rankings

Clay: Top 240
Clay: Top 80 rookies

The latest fantasy football advice and analysis

Ultimate Draft Board
Mike Clay breaks down his ideal fantasy draft, naming his preferred option in every round and highlighting his strategy for this season.

Strategy for streaming at QB
Tristan H. Cockcroft explains how to wait on drafting a quarterback and have a successful season.

Fantasy football rankings: Running back tiers
It's important to have a set of rankings handy when drafting, but it's even more important to know where value drops off at running back.

Fantasy football rankings: Wide receiver tiers
It's important to have a set of rankings handy when drafting, but it's even more important to know where value drops off at receiver.

Draft-Day Manifesto
Matthew Berry explains how to build and manage a winning fantasy football team.

WRs with the easiest, toughest schedules
Mike Clay ranks each team's cornerback group and explains which wideouts should be upgraded or downgraded on draft boards.

Players who will score fewer TDs in 2019
Mike Clay lists those he expects to find the end zone less often.

Players who will score more TDs in 2019
Mike Clay lists those he expects to find the end zone more often.

Is Evan Engram worthy of the top tier at TE?
André Snellings examines whether the Giants tight end should be mentioned in the elite at his position.

Second-year breakout candidates
Field Yates lists sophomores most likely to take a step up in Year 2.

Predictions for this year's rookie RBs
Matt Bowen offers a fantasy floor and ceiling for eight rookie backs.

Five things to consider before drafting Kareem Hunt
If you're going to draft the suspended RB, you will need a plan to make it work while you wait for his return.

2019 fantasy football handcuffs: Austin Ekeler among top options
Which players are worth drafting to handcuff your best starters? Mike Clay breaks down each team's backfield and pegs the top options at WR, TE and QB.

Expect these fantasy players to gain -- or lose -- the most targets in 2019
Opportunity is king in fantasy football. Here is a look at the top players who should pick up -- or lose -- targets in 2019 due to offseason roster changes.

How to take advantage of the early-season NFL schedule in fantasy
What can you tell about the potential early-season upside of fantasy players by examining their respective schedules? KC Joyner breaks it down.

How to draft a fantasy football team in nine easy steps
Field Yates takes the mystery out of what it takes to have a successful draft, great for first-timers and as a refresher for veteran drafters, too.

100 facts
Matthew gives you the facts he wants you to keep in mind when prepping for your drafts.

Is Gurley worth the risk in the first two rounds?
Eric Karabell discusses the potential risks and rewards.

Second-year WR breakout candidates
Ranking the sophomore wideouts poised to take the next step.

Faces in new places
Tristan H. Cockcroft ranks the players on new teams in 2019.

When to expect WRs to break out, and when to give up on them
Mike Clay looks at recent history to pinpoint potential breakouts.

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Top athletes like Laura Muir and Charlie Da’Vall Grice have been training in St Moritz this month and after visiting the Swiss mountain resort it is easy to see why

High in the Swiss Alps lies the picturesque town of St Moritz. A glitzy ski resort in the winter, it transforms into a ‘Monaco of the mountains’ in summer. Situated 1850m above sea level, the thin air also means it has become a mecca for endurance athletes.

Rolling trails weave around the outskirts of the town and encircle the crystal clear lakes. Geography and meteorology combine to ensure it receives an average of 322 days of sunshine each year. At its centrepiece is a four-lane running track which is used by many of the world’s greatest endurance athletes during the summer months.

When AW visited St Moritz this month top British athletes such as Muir and Grice, Kyle Langford, Jemma Reekie, Ellie Baker and Elliot Giles were there training, but they were far from alone. Polish middle-distance men Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski were also in St Moritz, while the Ingebrigtsen brothers from Norway had visited a few days earlier to train in the clean air and to give their red blood cells a boost at the altitude.

The town has staged the Winter Olympics twice before – in 1928 and 1948 – but it is also a sanctuary for endurance athletes with Summer Games ambitions. It was first used extensively by runners in the build-up to the Mexico Olympics of 1968 and over the years athletes like Seb Coe have used it as a mid-summer training base. Training in the oxygen-thin air, of course, encourages the body to produce more oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

“This is definitely the best summer place I’ve been to,” says Grice, a veteran of altitude training camps and an athlete who is featured in the latest (Aug 8) issue of AW. “We usually go to Font Romeu but the track has been out of action recently. But when you come here to St Moritz you don’t really want to go anywhere else. It’s just amazing.

“There’s a lot more driving involved when I go to Font Romeu,” he adds. “You have to drive 20 minutes down to the lake to run. But here everything is right next to where I stay.

“I live 200 metres away from the track. There are so many athletes here that you can train with and get to meet and it’s just a really beautiful place. The only downside is that it’s expensive.”

It is also arguably a little high to do high-quality track sessions, so athletes like Grice often travel an hour or so down the mountain to a track at Chiavenna, just over the Swiss-Italian border, where the altitude is not quite as harsh and intense workouts are more achievable. Other athletes prefer to live at even higher heights. Muir, for example, is this month toying with staying just outside St Moritz at a height of nearer 2400m for maximum gains while sleeping, whereas some even take an altitude tent to their altitude training camp so they can train high and sleep even higher.

As a reporter for AW I’ve experienced altitude camps in Iten, Ethiopia and Font Romeu. They are all impressive and beautiful in their own way but St Moritz is not quite as spartan as these other venues.

Training at altitude is not a guaranteed route to athletics excellence. Talent, hard work and ability to avoid injuries are more important. But if you are already maximising the key areas then training in a place like St Moritz can definitely give you an edge.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal beat Fabio Fognini to move into the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

World number two Nadal, seeking a fifth Rogers Cup title, started slowly before dispatching the Italian 2-6 6-1 6-2.

The Spaniard faces Gael Monfils or Roberto Bautista Agut, who will return on Saturday to complete their rain delayed match - Monfils was 30-0 up in the first game when play was suspended.

Russian pair Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov meet in the other semi-final.

"It was an up-and-down match, but a positive match for me because I played better and better as it went on," Nadal said.

Eighth-seeded Medvedev breezed past Austrian second seed Dominic Thiem 6-3 6-1 while Khachanov overcame German number three seed Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-3.

RANSOMVILLE, N.Y. – Chad Brachmann took advantage of the misfortune of some of his competitors to pick up his second-straight Krown Undercoating 358 Modified win on Friday night at Ransomville Speedway.

Erick Rudolph and Mike Bowman led a stacked field of Krown Undercoating 358 Modifieds to the green flag. Rudolph quickly pulled away from the pack with Bowman settling into second and points leader Mat Williamson in third. Williamson started the event with a slim two-point advantage over Rudolph.

Rudolph was in control of the field as he caught lapped traffic by lap 9 of the 30-lap feature. It looked like he was on his way to a dominating win until lap 12 when Jesse Cotriss hit a slick area on the inside of turn one and spun out just in front of Rudolph. The leader had nowhere to go and made contact with Cotriss. Bowman, Williamson and the lapped car of Steve Lewis, Jr. also piled up to bring out the yellow flag for the first time in the event.

With the top three collected in the incident, the fourth place running Brachmann assumed the lead followed by Gary Lindberg, Greg Martin, Ryan Susice and Pete Bicknell. Rudolph and Williamson tangled again on the ensuing restart when the pair locked nerf bars in turn two. Williamson sustained further damage and had to be towed to the pits.

The race resumed with Brachmann and Susice battling for the lead. Susice made several attempts to pull off a slide job pass on Brachmann, but Brachmann carried enough speed on the outside to hang on to the top position.

The final stretch run to the finish saw some intense battles inside the top five. Lindberg, Susice and Rick Richner took turns in the runner-up position. Rudolph was working his way back to the front after his earlier incidents. He got past Susice, Bowman as he looked to try and maximize his points with Williamson in the pits.

Brachmann cruised for the final laps to pick up his second-straight win. The victory moved him to third in the Modified points standings. Lindberg finished second for his best finish of the season at Ransomville.

Rudolph rallied to finish third. He took the points lead from Williamson, and now has a 23-point lead with three points races remaining. Richner and Bowman rounded out the top five.

In support division action, Brett Senek scored his fourth win of the season in the Investor’s Service Sportsman. Pete Stefanski earned his third win in the Ki-Po Chevrolet Street Stocks. In the Ransomville/Genesee Mini Stock Series event, Chris Leone picked up the win. Sam Junkin became the latest first time winner in the Stevenson’s Hardware Novice Sportsman.

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. – Will Krup bested nearly 40 American Ethanol Modified Tour competitors to win the fourth annual Tommie Bauer Memorial Friday night at Mount Pleasant Speedway.

Krup and Kyle Moore led the field to the green flag, with Moore jumping out to the early lead. The race was quickly slowed when Joey Burch spun in turn four on the opening lap, collecting Brian Brindley and Luke Hubbell. The incident would mark the end of the race for Hubbell.

On the restart, Moore jumped back out to the lead with Joe Rokos and Krup in tow.  The three would race away from a fierce field of drivers looking for a chance to race up to the lead.  Among the cluster of cars was two time champion Jacob Poel, who slowed slightly coming off the fourth corner, making contact with Brent Banning down the main straightaway.

In turn one it was clear something was a miss on Poel’s car, and he was off the pace by the exit of turn two.  Poel slowed right in the groove, getting hit from behind by Jeffrey Erickson Jr., setting off a chain reaction accident involving Caleb Kill and Brindley.

During the ensuing restart, Krup began his clear march to the point, as he dismissed Rokos in two laps before reeling in Moore.  A multi-lap side-by-side battle ended with Krup at the front of the field, while Moore began a slide backward, being passed by Rokos, Kody Weisner and Collin Thirlby.

Despite the best efforts of the rest of the field, Krup would keep his machine at the front of the field, picking up the win by over four seconds ahead of Rokos.  Mielke raced his way to the podium, coming up just four-one-hundredths of a second short on taking second place. Weisner and Thirlby rounded out the top five.

The finish:

Will Krup, Joe Rokos, David Mielke, Kody Weisner, Collin Thirlby, Kyle Moore, Mark Beard, Chad Bauer, John McClue, Joey Burch, Dave Baker, Brent Banning, Brian Speelman, Garrett Ron, Caleb Kill, Austin Harnick, Jeffery Erickson Jr., Steve Fairbanks, Jamie Lomax, Jacob Poel, Brian Brindley, Nathon Loney, Luke Hubbell.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Kerry Madsen led all 25 laps of Friday night’s start-and-stop FVP Hard Knox feature on night three of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway.

Madsen’s payoff for the night’s work was the 21^ststarting position in Saturday night’s A-main. Logan Schuchart, Shane Stewart and Dominic Scelzi finished second through fourth and earned starting positions 22 through 24 for Saturday.

Madsen started outside the front row and survived multiple restarts in a race that was slowed by five yellow flags and one red.

“It’s like someone is throwing a bomb at you, but I felt like I was getting good restarts,” Madsen said after his 23^rdcareer victory at the historic half-mile oval. “I was actually liking the clean air. I want to thank the boys for working so hard.”

All four drivers said they were relieved when the race was over and they’d qualified for Saturday night.

“When that checkered flag comes out I can’t tell you what a relief it is because it is such a big race and everyone puts so much effort into this race,” Madsen explained. “If your Nationals doesn’t go according to planned there are a lot of sad faces back in the pit area.”

For Schuchart, who won this race last year, it was the third straight year he’s transferred through the Hard Knox program. His team went back to an old race car after struggling on Wednesday night.

“It’s stress relief,” Schuchart said. “This is the biggest week of the year and there are a lot of good cars. A lot of good cars that aren’t in the A main. I’d like to do it on my qualifying night one year, but I’m happy to do it this way for the third year in a row.”

Stewart finished third one night after setting fast time and then destroying his CJB Motorsports entry on the first lap of his heat race.

“We were completely out of fuel,” Stewart said. “We were lucky to finish that race. This is a huge relief. When you come here your goal is to sit on the front row for the A main. People like myself and a few others had a mishap on their qualifying night.”

Last year on Friday night, Scelzi won the SPEED SPORT Challenge to earn the 25^thstarting spot in the A-main. With that race no longer part of the program, the California native found a new way to make Knoxville’s main event.

“Winning the SPEED SPORT last year was the best moment of my life last year,” Scelzi said. “To make it tonight was just as hard. I’m excited to be in again. Can’t go backward. It’s two Nationals I never thought I was going to make.”

Austin McCarl finished fifth.

To see full results, turn to the next page.

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — Landon Atkinson scored his first USMTS victory Friday night at the I-94 Raceway during the fifth annual Casey’s General Stores Summersota Nationals presented by QA1.
“This is something right out of a dream,” said the 22-year-old from Little Falls, Minn. “Last night I was sitting at home doing tires and I was thinking to myself ‘What if… What if I just show up, put it out there and I win the bitch?’ And I did.”
Atkinson was impressive from beginning to end. He made a last-lap pass of Zack VanderBeek to win his heat race and lead all drivers in passing points, and then redrew the pole position.
Sitting alongside Atkinson on the front row for the the start of the 40-lap main event was current USMTS national points leader Rodney Sanders who was seeking his third straight victory and 93rd of his career.
Despite the pressure, Atkinson was up to task and led every lap en route to a $2,500 payday and a place in the USMTS record books.
“There is nothing like it. These guys are the best in the country and there’s a reason why they do what they do. Anytime you get a chance to run with these guys-just run with them let alone run up front-is always fun.
“I think the biggest thing is just make sure you know he’s just another guy. Although it is Rodney Sanders-and he’s probably one of the best modified drivers to ever do it-you can’t really get too psyched out and you just gotta show up and put everything out there. If you don’t win, you don’t win, but sometimes you get the right end of the stick.”
It looked like a quick caution on lap 2 would be the only slowdown of the night, but when Ryan Gustin slowed and was unable to get his Spike Hardcore Energy machine completely off the racetrack, the yellow flag waved one last time with just four laps to go.
It wiped out a six-car-length lead Atkinson enjoyed over Sanders, but it was Dereck Ramirez making a bid for the top spot on the restart. Despite his best efforts, Ramirez came up short and had to settle for the second-place ribbon for the fourth straight event.
VanderBeek also slipped past Sanders in the closing laps while Blake Jegtvig charged from 15th on the grid to finish fifth and earned the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award.

The finish:

Landon Atkinson, Dereck Ramirez, Zack VanderBeek, Rodney Sanders, Blake Jegtvig, Hunter Marriott, Brady Gerdes, Terry Phillips, Austin Arneson, Travis Saurer, Jason Thoennes, Adam Kates, Randy Klein, Cory Jones, McKenzie Gerdes, Blake Boelens, Ryan Gierke, Ryan Gustin, Paul Niznik, Jake Timm, Lance Mari, Mike Striegel, Tyler Peterson, Brent Dutenhoffer.