MS Dhoni, 2013 Champions Trophy final Good captaincy is usually about keeping a cool head and making sensible decisions. But occasionally its about impetuosity and taking completely illogical risks.During the 2013 Champions Trophy final, MS Dhoni chose the latter route. Rain had turned the match into a T20, which made each ball that much more important. Chasing Indias mediocre 129 for 7, England limped to 46 for 4 in nine overs. Then Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan took 20 off two wayward Ishant Sharma overs to wrest back the impetus. So it went, until the chase dwindled to 28 needed off 18.As the tournament reached its denouement, Dhoni took a look around and, to everyones surprise, brought back Ishant. It looked to be a brain fade when Morgan hit his second ball for six and Ishant responded with two wides. Then, from nothing, Morgan chipped a slower, wider ball straight to midwicket, and Bopara smacked the very next ball to the same fielder at square leg. Fifteen minutes later, India had won by five runs and Dhoni wore a smile as wide as the Lords pavilion.Donald Bradman, Australia v England, 1937 If Dhonis mind was made up in a hot-blooded instant, Sir Donald spent hours cooking up this decision, his mind a simmer of Machiavellian mischievousness.Two down to the old enemy and facing growing dissent over his leadership, Bradman needed a result in Melbourne. Australia batted first and reached 181 for 6 before the heavens opened. The following day, the uncovered pitch behaved appallingly. Australia lost their last four wickets cheaply.England fared worse, much to the horror of Bradman, who realised he would be out batting again far too soon. He pulled his fielders back to the boundary, but to no avail. Less than 30 overs later, England declared on 76 for 9 and Australia were batting again, on a pitch that remained unpredictable.Bradmans solution? Turn the batting order upside down. His bowlers survived through the end of the second day, the pitch dried out over the rest day, and when the captain strode out at seven, he shared a stand of 346 with Jack Fingleton. Australia won by 365 runs, and took the series 3-2.Mark Taylor, England v Australia, 1997 Bradmans detractors berated him for hiding down the order. Sixty years later, no such accusations were levelled at another Aussie captain, Mark Taylor.Before the Ashes, Taylors captaincy was in jeopardy, thanks to a terrible run of form and an English whitewash in the preceding ODIs. He made a brave century in defeat in the first Test, but failed in both his other innings. Arriving for the third game, at Old Trafford, Australia were 1-0 down and the Manchester pitch green and soggy.As an out-of-touch opener, Taylor must have been sorely tempted to stick England in when he won the toss. Instead, he knew the hosts would struggle against Shane Warne in the fourth innings. He chose to bat, was immediately hit on the head by debutant Dean Headley, and then departed for 2.He lasted just three balls in the second innings as his personal torment continued, but twin centuries from Steve Waugh and nine wickets for Warne led Australia to a comfortable win, and some sort of personal redemption for the captain.Michael Clarke, West Indies v Australia, 2012 Momentum. The big mo. One of the least understood phenomena in sport, so easy to lose and so difficult to win back. Michael Clarke knew this. His first year in charge of a transitional Australian side saw him rack up a string of stellar individual scores, but against West Indies his flair for captaincy came to the fore.For the first half of the first Test, the hosts were dominant, putting on 449 and reducing Australia to 285 for 8. Then the visitors tail began to wag, and Ryan Harris and Nathan Lyon were galloping towards parity, before the captain suddenly called them in, with Australia still 43 behind.Yet Clarke sensed that the tide in the match was turning, and judged that quick wickets were more valuable than a small lead. And so it proved: Ben Hilfenhaus took three in six balls and West Indies were sunk.Michael Vaughan, England v Australia, 2005 Woe betide any captain who believes his work begins when sides take the field. The bedrock of Englands bewildering, stars-are-aligned Ashes win of 2005 were the bowling plans set up by Michael Vaughan and Duncan Fletcher for the Australian top order. And at Edgbaston, the finest Test of crickets best series, England struck a mortal blow. Matthew Hayden, Australias hard-driving bully, never recovered from being snared in one of Vaughans traps.England had responded to a heavy defeat at Lords by bludgeoning Australias Glenn McGrath-less attack for 407 in less than 80 overs. Then, as they strode out to field, Vaughan reminded Andrew Strauss to field at an unorthodox short extra cover position to dissuade Hayden from driving. Facing his first ball from Matthew Hoggard, fullish and wide, Hayden found he couldnt resist and the ball flew unerringly into Strauss hands. The rest was history and MBEs.Luke Bolton Manchester City Jersey . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Eliaquim Mangala Jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. http://www.authenticmanchestercityshop.com/Authentic-Daniel-Grimshaw-Manchester-City-Jersey/ . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Oleksandr Zinchenko Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Kyle Walker Manchester City Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over .HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson could soon a share a spot in NASCARs championship record book.The racing greats dont share much of a friendship.Petty, NASCARs career leader with 200 wins, has yet to speak to Johnson since the Hendrick Motorsports star earned a spot in the season finale with a championship berth on the line. Johnson would match Petty and Dale Earnhardt with seven Cup championships should be best Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch in Sundays race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.The King knew the year would come when he would have to share his championship throne.Petty said he wasnt openly rooting for a driver he barely knows to match his championship mark.I aint got a dog in this fight, you know what I mean, Petty said Saturday. Probably from the PR standpoint, it would be great if he could win it. Because then every time they say something about him, theyre going to say something about me and Earnhardt.Petty said he doesnt have much of a relationship with Johnson and they havent talked to each other since the Hendrick Motorsports star clinched his championship spot with a win at Martinsville.Jimmie is just another one out there, Petty said inside his motorhome. Weve never really socialized at all. Ive been at a bunch of meetings and places with him. Probably all weve ever done is say hello to each other.Johnson made his Sprint Cup debut in 2001 and won championships from 2006-2010 and a sixth in 2013. Earnhardt won championships in 1980 and went back-to-back in 1986-1987, 1990-1991 and 1993-1994. Pettys championships came in 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1979.I was the first one to climb the mountain, Petty said.ddddddddddddPetty and Earnhardt won their championships when NASCAR decided a champion under a season-long points system. Johnson won his in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint championship playoff era. Johnson tries for No. 7 in the third season of the Chase elimination format.Theres no way to compare with what Ive done, or what Earnhardts done or what Jimmies doing against each other, Petty said.Petty, whose 27 victories in 1967 still stand as a single-season record, has remained a fixture in NASCAR with his ownership stake in Richard Petty Motorsports. He turns 80 next year and remains a familiar sight at racetracks in feathered cowboy hats, dark glasses and cowboy boots.Its been good PR for me because this time last year, no one said, `Richard Petty won seven championships, he said. We wouldnt even be mentioned. Its brought us back into the forefront. A lot of the fans, old fans, new fans, never really think about that part. Now, theyve brought it into focus.Johnson had his eye on seven since he won his sixth championship in 2013. Only 41, a motivated Johnson has more shots at seven, eight, even more titles.It would be a massive honor to join Petty and Earnhardt, he said.Petty will congratulate Johnson after the race should he tie the record. Maybe then, the seven-time champs will have more of a chance to catch up.Ive been busy answering questions about Jimmie, Petty said, so I havent had a chance to talk with him.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.org ' ' '
