As much as the delivery it is the exclamation - a kind of song actually - it prompts from the wicketkeeper that is worth replaying. It is such an unmistakably subcontinental reaction, audible in any number of scenes - among a group of men after a lewd joke, or, more deplorably, when a beautiful woman passes by. At a mushaira [poetry recital] or a mehfil [small gathering], you may have noticed, a clever couplet brings this on: this, Ai hai hai hai. Umer Sharif, the great Pakistani comedian, was a master enabler of such moments. Occasionally if it is just too good, one might feel the urge to punctuate it with a Maar da laa [That killed me].Sarfraz Ahmed did not so append, and why would he? His Ai hai hai hai to that delivery from Yasir Shah was enough. Words might be the worst way to capture the mastery of that delivery over its victim: this explains it sufficiently. Years earlier, Ashraf Ali expressed a popular variant, a softer, more lyrical but abrupt Aa haa to an Abdul Qadir googly that castled Kim Hughes (if youre in a rush, watch from around 4:00 but this is Qadir googly heaven, so youd be a fool not to watch it all). The bonus - and locator of surrounds - in this instance is Richie Benauds excitement on the mic (Beautiful Bosie!) but Ashraf could easily have been an appreciator of some form of subcontinent art: a dance performance, a poetry recital, a music concert, a filmi dialogue.Moin Khan was an occasional champion of it, as he still is in gatherings of adult men, amid childish jokes. But as with Sarfraz and Kamran Akmal, the loud cackle was his go-to reaction to a batsmans misfortune. Moin once started laughing two-thirds of the way through appealing for lbw off a Mushtaq Ahmed googly to HD Ackerman. It helps to have the voice of Moin and Sarfraz, squashed down but trembling forever on the brink of a screech. It isnt necessary, though.Rashid Latif was an oddity among Pakistani wicketkeepers in many ways, one of which was that he possessed a deeper voice. He was not as vocal either, but even he couldnt help pulling out a slightly stretched aah ha, when Mushtaq once bowled Dermot Reeve with a googly, or a droll ai hai when Mushy did likewise to a UAE batsman (in the same video, soon after the Reeve dismissal). The more refined response alerts us not only that the ball is good but that the entire dismissal is to be processed as a piece of high culture.MS Dhoni has the voice and bearing for it, though nobody should be surprised that he has elevated his version to a tool of proactivity. He uses it as a kind of spook tactic, for deliveries that do not take wickets but might do something special. What they do is plant doubt inside a batsman, or at least the hint that a collaborative mischief of personnel and the elements is upon him. In that way, as Dhoni must have worked out years ago, it is as good as a sledge. In the event of a wicket falling, it is a send-off, a withering one without a word even being uttered. Ai hai hai, maar da la - batsman, keeper, everyone, figuratively, literally.****Cricket does not easily forget a big-turning legbreak, such as the one Yasir bowled to Imrul Kayes. Perhaps it is because we understand the impossibilities of what is being done. It is the only occasion in life, for instance, other than when a ring is being put on it (or it is used to pick a guitar string) that our third finger from the thumb comes to some labour. The wrist must unfurl in synchronicity. And already the shoulder is going through a highly unnatural contortion, with incredible strain put upon it. Subsequently there is the pivot on the foot to consider, as well as the driving of the hips through the process of release.These are just the bare biomechanical considerations, but already requiring a rare combination of strength and dexterity. Then come the specific skills. The seam has to be positioned right; there must be enough revs imparted on the ball to first make it drift, then grip and then turn, but not do any of it too much or too little; the release has to come just right, otherwise the ball lands too short or too full, or comes out too flat, or too loopy.We might think then that the chances of a confluence as magnificent as that delivery of Yasirs - a perfect storm of anatomical gifts and acquired craft, of nature and nurture - lie somewhere between Leicester City winning the Premiership and the force of the Big Bang being just right to produce a cosmos. Or something.It is almost irrelevant that he gets the wicket at the end of it, let alone that it is a castling. Would it have been worthier to beat a defensive stroke, such as the one Mike Gatting bemusedly offered Shane Warne, or to bypass an attempt to pad away the ball? Maybe, because to beat a man when he is determined not to be beaten - as opposed to when he is determined to win - appears the harder feat. But to lull a batsman into attacking and then get him is also a triumph in the battle of personality, just in a different way to how Warne conducted it. And just for fun, try in your head to superimpose the sound of a Moin or Sarfraz to a Warne wicket: ecstasy.Something of the sheer wonder of legspin has necessarily dimmed over time. When Qadir was legspinning, it was the easiest thing in the world to shroud him and his craft in mystery. There was no video or internet, no coaches or analysts or biomechanists breaking his action down. He could bowl one googly six times but Chinese whisper it into meaning he was bowling six different ones, and nobody was in a position to dispute it. Growing a goatee was a legitimate bowling tactic then. By the second half of Warnes career, he would have had to work harder to make the batsmen in his era think something was happening when it wasnt, because batsmen were better equipped to know what was and wasnt happening. It was Warnes genius that he could still do it, even as the game and his own pre-eminence within it made it harder for him to do so. Yasir may as well be bowling naked, there is so little to hide in this age.Maybe not all the wonder has gone, though. It is still the genre of bowling most given to producing oohs and aahs and ai hai hais. Warne probably didnt see the ball Yasir bowled but such is the brotherhood, wherever he was, in his head, maybe in his sleep, he must have felt it and appreciated it: ai hai hai.****The legspinner and his wicketkeeper: this summer in England, Yasir and Sarfraz must forge a partnership. It is not a partnership as we understand others to be, between opening bowlers or batting pairs. These are two lonely occupations, one man often only noticed for his mistakes, the other usually the only representative of his kind in a bowling attack. And legspinners do not breed easily, so each one carries the flame for a species, not just for himself or his side.Unique within team dynamics, the wicketkeeper must treat the leggie as an opponent, to be conquered. He must learn to read him as a batsman does, but from the hand, because unlike the batsman, the wicketkeepers line of sight is directly obstructed. The wicketkeeper strives to understand what the leggie is doing better than anyone on his side, and that, perhaps, is why he responds as Sarfraz did in that dismissal. That exclamation is part of the bond that he knows and appreciates better than anyone just what the leggie has done.It is not an obviously prolific partnership. Unlike the prominence of a fast bowler and his wicketkeeper, or the more celebrated associations of spinners and slip catchers, this relationship demands less exclusivity to each other. Take a sample of modern leggies (Qadir, Mushtaq, Warne, Anil Kumble, Stuart MacGill and Danish Kaneria), and youll find that on average, 15% of their Test wickets were either caught or stumped by a wicketkeeper; for some, like Kaneria, the proportion is nearly a fifth, for others, like Kumble, it is less than a tenth. On average, they do not even combine for one dismissal per Test - from this sample, Kaneria-Kamran Akmal came closest, with 39 dismissals in 43 Tests together.That last stat is a statutory warning to not burden these numbers with excessive meaning. Kaneria-Akmal began well but the dysfunction that grew between them from 2006 was central to dysfunctional sides. Kaneria never said so publicly at the time, but each time he came on to bowl, he did so with zilch faith in Akmals ability. Instead, when they are operating together there must be no misunderstanding, no gripes or masked frustrations. Communication is vital, even if it is just to ask whats for dinner tonight before the last ball of the day. A good, working combination becomes a useful index of the health of a side.Sarfrazs work to spin, and to Yasir, has not always been assertive; that they have combined for just one catch in 12 Tests is not simply the by-product of how these pairings operate but the result of several missed chances. Conditions in England for the uninitiated wicketkeeper, as Akmal discovered a decade ago, can be so unique as to derail a career. Not many chances will come in the first place, so the price of Sarfraz not holding on to the few that do will be steeper.There is some promise, not least among seven stumpings. The one to get rid of Dimuth Karunaratne last year in Galle, off a ball that turned a mile, emerged from within the tangle of an attempted shot and was rising another couple when Sarfraz took it, was a peach. This was not as swift or smooth as Ian Healys celebrated stumping of Graham Thorpe in Perth once - to a Warne delivery that he took shoulder high. That was unreal. But Sarfraz did finish this at least, with function if not form. A couple against England last year similarly offset an inherent clunkiness with the alertness to get the job done.Given how their leggie and wicketkeeper have gone on the last two tours of England, Pakistan wont care much how it is done, as long as it is. Cyber Monday Air Jordan . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. 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Every championship season has a turning point. For the 1986 New York Giants it happened in Minnesota. It happened when a quarterback found his confidence. It happened when a crack-addicted wide receiver made a catch and converted a late-game fourth down and forever. From his new book, Big Blue Wrecking Crew: Smashmouth Football, A Little Bit of Crazy, and the 86 Super Bowl Champs, Jerry Barca tells the story of the men of this moment.On an autumn Sunday night in northern New Jersey, Phil Simms sat at his kitchen table and didnt say anything. His wife had made a big meal. She always cooked after games. The Giants had beaten the Cowboys 17-14 that day, but the couple sat in silence.The Dallas game was as bad as it ever got. We won the game, but, my God. I was shot. Just shot. I couldnt concentrate on the plays because I couldnt trust the players. I didnt trust the receivers.Simms had posted a 22.2 quarterback rating. It was -- and always would be -- the worst rating in his 164-game career.The Giants beat the Eagles 17-14 in Philadelphia the next week. Simms didnt fare much better than the week before. Receivers dropped fives of his passes. He threw two interceptions and posted a 29.6 passer rating, completing 8 of 18 attempts for 130 yards.Even though we won and were 8-2, I couldnt have cared less. It felt like we were 2-8.Giants head coach Bill Parcells could see Simmss confidence was shaken. Parcells called the quarterback into his office. Youve got your team in first place, he said. I just want you to go out there and be aggressive. Take chances, and lets try to win this thing.Late in the day, when only a few people were still at the Giants facility, Bill Belichick, the teams defensive coordinator, went out of his way to stop Simms in the hallway outside the locker room. Belichick told Simms he saw the quarterback putting work in every day. Youre a really good player. I have great faith in you. Just do your job.The Giants headed to Minnesota to play a 6-4 Vikings team that was eyeing a playoff berth.From the Giants first possession of the game, Simms looked different. He moved with fluidity in the pocket. Stepping up in the face of pressure, he took hits and delivered passes. He completed 11 of 15 throws in the first half for 173 yards. He even rushed for 16 yards on two carries.Up 9-6 with 55 seconds left in the half and the ball at their own 22-yard line, the Giants and Simms stayed aggressive. Simms completed three straight passes and pushed the hurry-up offense, running up to the Vikings 37-yard line. Same play! Same play! he yelled amid the din of the Metrodome.Left tackle Brad Benson took this to mean the ball would be snapped on the second sound, just as it had been on the play before. As Simms came to the line of scrimmage, he yelled, Same play! again and Benson moved, drawing a false start penalty.When the refs marched off the penalty, Parcells started screaming at Benson, F--- you. And Benson gave it back to him. The penalty forced kicker Raul Allegre into a 60-yard field goal attempt, which he missed as time ran out in the half.Parcells and Benson had to be separated at halftime. Benson stood in the showers, away from the head coach and out of the offensive meeting.Down 20-19 with 1:12 to play, Simms took a sack on third down and eight. The Giants called timeout to discuss their options on 4th and 17 from their own 48-yard line. They picked: Half Right W-Motion 74 X In.I was just supposed to run like a clear out, said wide receiver Bobby Johnson. I actually wasnt in the play.As the offense broke the huddle, Simms told Johnson to be alert. He might have to throw to him late.The crowd noise forced Simms under center. Simms dropped back. He looked left. Nothing. He scanned the middle of the field. Nothing. The Vikings rushed three, running a stunt with nose tackle Mike Stensrud looping outside on a bull-rush. Stensrud hit Simms just as the quarterback released the ball to the right.The ball spiraled toward the sideline. Twenty-two yards down field, Johnson had found an open spot and made the catch at the Vikings 30-yard line.The Metrodome fell quiet. Johnsoon didnt offer any big celebration.dddddddddddd He clapped his hands together as he jogged back to the huddle.By now, Johnson, a third-year undrafted free agent out of Kansas, had become a full-fledged crack addict.Sometime early in the offseason, Johnson had a teammate and couple of women to his apartment in Hackensack, N.J. One of the women brought some cocaine.She combined it with water and baking soda and boiled the mixture in a spoon. Rocks emerged. She had made crack cocaine. You have to try this, she said, looking at Johnson. She lit the pipe, and Johnson took a hit.It was just overwhelmingly good, he said.He thought he was mentally strong enough. He thought hed do this a couple of times and be done with it. But it dont work like that.By the time the season started, it had gotten to the point where crack was the first thing he needed after practice and the last thing he needed to do before he went to sleep.A few plays after Johnsons fourth-down catch, Allegre hit a 33-yard field goal with 12 seconds to play. The Giants won 22-20.We wouldnt say it aloud. We wouldnt say it in public, but it was almost like divine intervention from that point on. We knew that we were destined to win, said defensive end George Martin.After the game, in a whooping and cheering locker room, Parcells touted his quarterback to the media. He even kissed Simms on the cheek.It was like the only endorsement he gave me in his whole career. He never did that, Simms said.Simms finished the day with 310 yards passing, connecting on 25 of 38 attempts. He threw two interceptions in the game, but he didnt let the miscues dull his confidence. Lets go out there and fight them again. It was a very physical game. I took some hellacious hits in the game, and its just the way I wanted to play. Thats who I wanted to be every week.Later that season, Simms completed 22 of 25 passes in Super Bowl XXI. He won the games MVP and he still holds the Super Bowl record for completion percentage, but the game at Minnesota ranks higher for him.Its my favorite game in my career, not because of the fourth and 17, but because I played the way I really wanted to play.While boarding the plane from Minnesota back to New Jersey, Brad Benson and Parcells exchanged glares. Benson sat in the back, drinking a beer with Simms. A trainer interrupted them to let Benson know Parcells wanted to see him. Simms offered Benson some luck as the left tackle walked up to the front.Parcells greeted Benson with, Sit down. Want a drink?No. Im all right, said Benson, thinking he didnt want to stay that long.Listen, I was a little rough today. Im willing to say Im sorry, Parcells said.Well, Im sorry, too.You know youre one of my guys. Youre one of my lunch pail guys.They spoke for 10 minutes. Benson did take a seat. He felt like it was a great pep talk from his coach.Were okay, right? Parcells asked, closing up the chat.Were okay.Benson stood up to leave. Parcells took his hand. Oh, one more thing. You ever jump offsides like that in a crucial situation, Ill cut your ass.As time ran out in the Giants 39-20 Super Bowl XXI win over the Denver Broncos, Bobby Johnson cried. He knew his time was up with the Giants. No one had said anything to him, but they didnt need to. He knew his drug-fueled behavior would no longer be tolerated. Johnson never played another down in the NFL.After football ended, his drug use worsened. He became homeless. He slept on park benches. In June 1994, the man who caught the most important pass in the Giants 1986 season lost three fingers on his right hand in a work accident at a pencil factory. A couple of years after that, he walked into his mothers home in Smyrna, Tennessee. Son, you look terrible. You look terrible, she said, and she started crying.Johnson never went to rehab, but he ended his drug use after that visit. He has been sober since. He doesnt look back at his time in the NFL with any bitterness. He loves the Giants and Parcells. He calls it a happy ending because Im alive. ' ' '