Christmas is the time when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time to be merry, a time of good cheer, and as we continue to eat and drink, and to lift our glasses in a toast of good will to all men, as sportsmen and sportswomen, we should also remember two things that happened in sport recently.

One is the wonderful performance of the West Indies team in Australia. The other is the passing of Sydney Bartlett, one of the legends of Jamaica's football.

The West Indies lost the three-match series 2-0, but they played well - so well that West Indians are happy and Australians are still singing their praise.

After going to Australia as out-and-out underdogs with everyone, or rather almost everyone, expecting a 3-0 hiding, after losing the first Test in three days by an innings and everyone crying "shame", the West Indies got up, dusted themselves off, went to Adelaide and then to Perth, and surprisingly, turned in two lovely performances.

They almost won in Adelaide, and although they lost by a few runs, in Perth, they made the Aussies sweat on both occasions.

Important for performance

The West Indies played so well that, with a little luck, the final count could have been 1-1, or even 2-1 to the West Indies.

Remembering that they lost the series, what is really important about their performance is that they came off the floor, they fired back in style, and they played so well to suggest not only that they have suddenly found some players with talent, but that their attitude, to an extent, has changed.

The West Indies, it appears, are now willing to fight. They no longer depend on one, two, or three batsmen. They have seen the wisdom of not only playing a spin bowler but also, depending on the conditions and the pitch, of relying on spin bowling, and they seem to believe in themselves.

In toasting the West Indies' performance - a performance highlighted by the non- performance of batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indian fans should say a special thank you to the manager, Joel Garner, and to coach David Williams who, from this distance, seem to have motivated the players to give of their best. Thanks too to young Adrian Barath and Kemar Roach, to Dwayne Bravo, to Brendan Nash for standing in the breach on so many occasions despite looking set to go at any time, to Travis Dowlin, and to Narsingh Deonarine.

The man who deserves an extra special thank you, however, is Chris Gayle.

As a captain on the field, he was brilliant some days and he was ordinary some days. Off the field, however, he seemed to have done a wonderful job, and especially so during his interviews.

He seemed to have said the right things all the time. He smiled so often that he seemed to have really enjoyed himself, and on top of that, it seems that he endeared himself to the Australian people.

As a batsman, he was magnificent.

In six innings, Gayle scored 346 runs at an average of 69.20, and that was great. What was really impressive, however, were his 165 not out in the second innings of the second Test, and his 102 in the first innings of the third Test.

In the second Test, the hard-hitting, explosive batsman knew his team needed a good total when he went to bat in the second innings. For that to happen, he needed to bat long, and that he did while scoring 165 not out in 441 minutes, 16 fours and only one six, and batting right through the innings.

In the third Test, after Australia had piled up 520 for seven declared, and with his team trailing 0-1 and in need of a victory to share the series, he knew his team needed some fast scoring, and that he did while blasting 102 off 72 deliveries with nine sixes and nine fours before he was dismissed at 136 for one after 24.1 overs.

But for that disappointing performance on the third day of the third Test when they lost six wickets for 27 runs in 50 minutes and 8.1 overs after lunch, a day which brought memories of many in the recent past, it was a satisfying and promising performance by the West Indies.

Sydney Bartlett, 'Syddie', 'S1', or 'The Worm' as they used to call him, will be remembered as one of Jamaica's greatest footballers. In fact, in my opinion, he is the most skilled footballer this country has produced.

One of the country's best

As a student of Gaynstead High School, Bartlett never had the opportunity to parade his skills in the Manning Cup competition. After starring in the Facey Cup competition, however, he went to YMCA from where he moved into the Jamaica team. Playing at inside right in the old 'W' formation, the formation of two backs, three half-liners and five forwards, he became one of the country's best.

In an era which older Jamaicans remember as the golden age of the country's football, Bartlett played in the company of champions like Selwyn Murphy - the daring 'Pirate of Port Royal' from Railway who is remembered as one of Jamaica's greatest goalkeepers; Owen Parker - the YMCA and Jamaica left-winger with a booming shot; Noel Tappin - the Melbourne and Jamaica centre-forward whose power drove fear into the hearts of opposing goalkeepers; Lascelles 'Muggy' Graham - the hard-tackling Jamaica midfield stalwart from St George's Old Boys; and Denzil Lue and Anthony Hill - the tricky inside forwards from St George's College and St George's Old Boys who are also numbered among Jamaica's best ever.

Bartlett was a member of the Jamaica team which lost 2-3 to Mexico in 1965, finished third in the region, and in those days when only two teams qualified from this region, just missed qualifying for the 1966 World Cup in England.

Dribbling was an art

In the days when dribbling was an art, when footballers were acclaimed for the ability to dribble through opposing defences, Sydney Bartlett, a member of the West Indies football team to England in 1958, was a master, or rather, was the master. That is why they called him 'S1' and the 'The Worm'.

I will never forget the evenings, and the nights, watching Bartlett, his hands in the air, his two index fingers pointing to the sky, as he dribbled his way, going this way and then that way, like a worm, down the field, through defenders, sometimes sending them the wrong way and sometimes leaving them on the ground before tapping a pass to someone like centre-forward Elvin Schloss, or to left-winger Peter Lewin when playing for YMCA or for Jamaica.

Sometimes, many times, the dribble, sometimes after picking up the ball from a long throw by goalkeeper Carl Lewin, ended in a perfect shot past a diving goalkeeper, to his right or to his left, and into the corner of the goal.

As a teenager, Sydney Bartlett was a good wicketkeeper/batsman. In fact, he was so good that sometimes I wonder where his skill as a cricketer would have taken him had he not been so gifted as a footballer.

Walk good, great one.