To almost every sportsman, victory is the sweetest taste of all.

To some, however, and especially to yours truly, a great performance in which a man does his best and only fails to taste victory because of fate or because of the fight in his opponent is probably just as sweet.

That was the case in Adelaide from December 4 to December 8 when the West Indies played some wonderful cricket, turned in a great performance, and just failed, unfortunately, to pull off a victory that would have resounded around the world and which would have left the three-match series tied at 1-1.

Routed for 228 and 187 in reply to Australia's 480 and losing the first Test in Brisbane by an innings and 65 runs, the West Indies hit back in fine style and, in one of the great comebacks in the game, cornered Australia and had them hanging on for dear life at the end of a bruising contest.

Probably embarrassed by the performance of 19-year-old Adrian Barath who stroked a delightful century in the first Test - in his first Test match, the West Indies turned up in Adelaide, and although hardly anyone believed in them, with the words of manager Joel Garner, coach David Williams, and captain Chris Gayle ringing in their ears; the words that they were capable of revenge and that the West Indies would avenge the defeat in Brisbane, they paraded their skills and, in my opinion, went to within one wicket of winning the match.

five wickets short

Chris Gayle - File

At the end, with the scoreboard reading 212 for five, the West Indies were five wickets short.

With Australia still needing another 118 runs to win the match, however, with Michael Clarke battling for 149 minutes and Brad Haddin for 94 minutes in an unbroken partnership of 73 in 20.3 overs, with the West Indies bowlers, headed by pacer Dwayne Bravo and by left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, in command and with only the bowlers to come, with fielders all around the bat and hollering for catches and leg-before-wicket decisions after almost every delivery, the West Indies were probably only one wicket away from a sweet and memorable victory.

When the last 15 overs started, Australia were 165 for five, and with Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, and Doug Bollinger to come, with the tension in the air, one moment of good luck, the dismissal of either Clarke or Haddin, could have signalled the end for Australia.

Maybe he was tired after bowling 53 overs in the first innings, but had Benn, bowling on a pitch which suited him, taken even one wicket in the second innings, the West Indies would probably be now still celebrating victory.

It is too early to say that the West Indies have turned the corner. In fact, much still needs to be done in West Indies cricket before anyone can say that the West Indies team is back to where - or near to where - it belongs.

The West Indies still need two class batsmen in the middle, despite the presence of Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards and the promise of Kemar Roach, they still need a few top-class fast bowlers, and despite the threat of Benn in Adelaide, the fact that he failed to take a wicket in the second innings suggests that they still need a bowler or two who can really spin the ball, who can get it to bounce, and who can rip through a good and defiant batting team on a pitch as kind as the one in Adelaide.

For five days, however, the West Indies brought back memories of old, and every one of the players, with the bat, with the ball, and in the field, deserve a hearty round of applause.

The one who deserves it more than all the others, however, was Gayle.

superb captain

As a captain, in terms of the bowling changes and the setting of the field, in terms of keeping the pressure on the batsmen, he was superb.

His class performance, however, was with the bat.

Known as a batsman of awesome power, as one who fears no one, and as one who loves to see the ball whistling from his bat like a bullet from a gun, Gayle, like he did in Napier a year ago, and like he did in Kingston earlier this year, changed his style and piloted the West Indies into a position of strength.

In Napier, the opening batsman batted for 514 minutes, faced 396 deliveries, and scored 197, and in Kingston, he batted for 337 minutes, faced 192 deliveries, and scored an impressive 104.

In Adelaide, after failing in the first innings, he went to bat, set about leaving Australia a huge target, controlled his natural tendencies, and after batting for 441 minutes and 285 deliveries, after stroking 63 singles, the big left-hander batted undefeated to the end of the innings for 165.

The West Indies left Australia a target of 330 in 81 overs, and after a testing time, the home team, their feet trembling in fear, squeezed through to safety.

In all of that, Gayle became the fourth West Indian, behind Frank Worrell, Desmond Haynes (three times), and Conrad Hunte to bat undefeated to the end of a Test match innings.

Should Gayle change his style?

For his personal enjoyment of the game, for the enjoyment of those who love to see the ball, especially from the fast bowlers, sailing or flying to the boundary, and in the interest of the game as a spectacle, I do not think so.

There is something exciting about batsmanship the Christopher Gayle way.

In the interest of winning, however, in the interest of West Indies cricket, there are times when I definitely would like to see him bat the way he did in Napier, in Kingston, and again in Adelaide.

It's now on to Perth - the home, at least once upon a time, of the fastest pitch in the world, and with the count reading, unfortunately, one for Australia and zero for the West Indies, as well as the West Indies played in Adelaide, as much as it could be 1-1 if they repeat that performance, chances are it will be 2-0 at the end of the contest.

dry spell in WI cricket

It should be 2-0 because Australia remain that better than the West Indies and, but for the addition of Brendan Nash, but for his fighting spirit with the bat and in the field, plus his never-say-die attitude, nothing has happened in West Indies cricket in recent times to suggest that West Indies cricket is on the move.

It was nice to see the West Indies fighting in Adelaide - for five days at that, and it was lovely to see the players, including captain Gayle, smiling and enjoying themselves.

Win, lose, or draw in Perth, what Adelaide has proven is that there is nothing wrong with West Indies cricket that players with pride, commitment, and dedication cannot cure - and especially so if they and the administrators, at both the territorial and the West Indies board levels, move to same beat.

The odds still favour Australia at least drawing the match and winning the series.

With a record of five victories out of six appearances on the banks of the Swan River, however, with the victories as commanding as an innings and 87 runs, an innings and 112 runs, 169 runs, an innings and 25 runs, and by 10 wickets, although Australia won the last one by an innings and 27 runs, history is on the side of the West Indies.

If their batsmen, for example, can emulate Roy Fredericks (169 off 145 deliveries) and Clive Lloyd (149 off 186) when the West Indies blasted 585 off 95.4 overs in 1975, or if, with the breeze, the Fremantle Doctor, cooling them, their batsmen can follow the example of Barath in the first Test and Gayle in the second, and if their bowlers can bowl as well as Andy Roberts did in 1975 when he took seven second-innings wickets or as brilliantly as Curtly Ambrose did in 1993 when he took seven wickets for one run in an amazing spell, the West Indies could win their first match Down Under since Perth in 1996-97 and draw the series - especially if Roach and Bravo, probably also Benn, bowl as well as they did a few days ago.

Adelaide was so good that if they had Fidel Edwards and a fit Taylor to lead Roach and Bravo as well as Benn in Perth, I would certainly place a bet on the Windies.