My tableau

James is at Camp Speicher, the massive base near Tikrit, 85 miles north of Baghdad, not far from Saddam Hussein’s hometown and where insurgents still are a perpetual threat. For Miami Northwestern High, the Miami Hurricanes, three NBA teams and some foreign clubs, he was forward Tim James. For the Army, he’s Spc. Tim James of Task Force ODIN—short for Observe, Detect, Identify, Neutralize.

In layman’s terms, he’s part of the unit tasked with watching and catching the bad guys before they plant bombs.

So long, charter jets, enormous paychecks and Ritz-Carlton hotel stays.

Hello, 130-degree afternoons, 12-hour work days, $2,600 a month and 50-caliber machine guns.

“In life, we all have different desires and needs,” said Leonard Hamilton, James’ college coach and now the coach at Florida State. “With the passion he has, he had to go fulfill this. I’m in total support of Tim and what he’s doing. He’s at peace. All we can do is hope he comes back safely.”

The prosecutor who tried Jayson Williams for manslaughter more than five years ago could find himself back in court, this time to answer allegations that the former NBA star was the victim of racial bias and prosecutorial misconduct.

State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman on Monday set a late September date for a hearing that will examine an incident in which a senior investigator for the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office used a racial slur to describe Williams during an office meeting in 2002.

Steven Lember, who prosecuted the 2004 trial in which Williams was convicted on four counts of covering up the fatal shooting of hired driver Costas Christofi, is expected to be subpoenaed to testify at the hearing.

England will give Warwickshire opener Jonathan Trott a Test debut against Australia at The Oval next week as they seek to reverse the horrors of Headingley by pulling off a victory to regain the Ashes.

Essex batsman Ravi Bopara is the only batsman to be dropped from the squad. Warwickshire batsman Ian Bell will take his place at No.3, the Guardian reports.

The England selectors have said that they felt that Bopara’s form and confidence had deteriorated sufficiently for him to be jettisoned for the fifth Test.

England’s coach, Andy Flower said: “Every batsman has been through a run of low scores and he (Bopara) hasn’t managed to really get in and show what he is made of in this series.”

“It’s a tough situation for him, but he is a pretty calm bloke, so he’s keeping it in perspective,” Flower added.

After a week of fervent speculation, there is no place for Surrey’s Mark Ramprakash or Kent opener Rob Key, both of whom are among the top scorers in English county cricket.

Flower and captain Andrew Strauss told the selectors that sweeping changes to the middle-order would play into Australia’s hands by indicating that England had lost faith in their entire Ashes strategy.

England’s new batting hero Jonathan Trott says he’s no Kevin Pietersen, but his own man.

The 28-year-old produced a debut Test century of the finest class to catapult his career – in the cauldron of the fifth Test decider at the Oval.

‘I’ve always said I don’t try to emulate anyone,’ The Age quoted Trott, as saying after his 119 helped England set Australia 546 for victory.

‘I try to take the good points from various other players and build my own game around that. I try and be myself,” he added.

Trott also revealed there was ‘nothing personal’ between himself and South African coach Mickey Arthur, who said before the match that the Cape Town-born player made the correct move to England because he was not good enough to replace any present Proteas batsman.

‘It was a good move [to come to England],’ Trott said.

‘I played against Mickey before he retired. ‘It’s nothing personal. He’s got his team, this is our team, and I’m happy as Larry right here. This is my home and I’m truly honoured to be sitting here after having a great day. It’s something you work towards your whole life,” Trott said.

England needs a hero in the form of Ian Botham to make something of the fourth Ashes Test, which they are sight of losing inside three days, said injured batsman Kevin Pietersen.”This match may have slipped away – although while we’re still fighting I’ll be praying for a miracle – but there’s still the Fifth Test to play and that’s when we’ll need somebody to stand up and be counted. The kind of guy who won’t see this series as a lost cause just because The Oval has a reputation for drawn matches,” said KP in article for The Sun.”Everybody talks about Ian Botham and Bob Willis back in 1981 and that’s the perfect example of what I’m talking about. This match is, sadly, slipping away. But if it’s the same situation in the last Test, I’m sure somebody will step up,” KP added.”This is a series where you can make a name for yourself by producing an outstanding individual performance. That’s what England need now. The team that deals with the pressure best will take the glory,” he said.Pietersen also said that from a personal point of view, his recovery is going well and that he was looking to play in the one-day internationals although it would be foolish to name a date just 48 hours after the stitches removed.

Former England captain and star all-rounder Ian Botham has termed calls for silencing the Barmy Army as ridiculous and crazy.

In article for The Mirror, Botham questioned moves by the ECB to curb the chat of fans loyal to the England cricket team.

” It’s called home advantage. What do people expect from the crowd? They are England fans and it is fair to expect them to be with the home team and against the away team. That’s the same everywhere around the world.Each crowd has their own way of going about it. Telling the England fans to keep a lid on their songs and banter is like telling the Indian fans to keep it quiet when Sachin Tendulkar walks out to bat or hits a boundary,” said Botham.

While admitting that a few buffoons could over extend themselves in their raucous behavior, Botham said it was plain and simple rubbish to demand a “sterile atmosphere” on a ground where a Test match is on.

Andrew Flintoff signed off from Test cricket with Ashes glory and declared that Stuart Broad would adequately make up for his absence.

The 31-year-old said: “What a Test for Stuart Broad – I think once I’ve gone, they’re not going to be missing me. They seem to have found someone far better. It’s been a real team effort and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

Flintoff will now undergo surgery on Tuesday on his injured right knee, having suffered a gruelling run of knocks since the 2005 Ashes.

But after his run-out of Ricky Ponting sparked the Aussie collapse, the all-rounder claims it has all be worthwhile.

He added: “All the injuries and operations, It’s for moments like this. What a way to go. My contribution may only have been a run-out but there’s been a few question marks over my fielding so I think I’ve put them to bed.”