NEWS in the past week that cricket captain Clay Smith would be heading off to Colorado to undergo a knee operation that could keep him out of action for six months or more won?t have come as any great surprise.

It?s been clear for some time that Smith has being held back by an injury that prompted as much debate before last summer?s ICC Trophy in Ireland as the competition itself.

Despite the obvious discomfort, not to mention the frustration of performing while feeling much less than 100 percent, the skipper has remained an integral part of the World Cup build-up, and there?s no doubt he will be missed if forced to sit out the series of matches early next year in the United Arab Emirates, a training camp in Trinidad, the Twenty20 international tournament in the Caribbean as well as part of the domestic season.

But in his case it was now or never.

By delaying surgery any further and continuing to play, Smith would run the risk of suffering more serious injury and ultimately missing out altogether when it mattered most.

There?s little doubt that a fit Clay Smith will have a major bearing on how Bermuda fares when the big dance begins in 2007. And with over a year to fully recuperate, there?s every chance he can return to his very best in time to perform in what promises to be the most significant occasion in Bermuda sports history.

There is, however, a lesson to be learned from Smith?s story.

For years he?s been attempting to play at the top level in both soccer and cricket ? and the wear and tear on his body from matches week-in, week-out has taken its toll.

His case isn?t unusual.

It?s not uncommon for a lot of our top sportsmen to skip from one national sport to the other without missing a beat.

But given the demands of both, particularly at the international level, it?s almost inevitable that injuries are going to occur.

It therefore seems odd that we still have players in the current national cricket squad whose names frequently crop up in weekend soccer reports, particularly at the Commercial level ? at least three come immediately to mind.

Commercial football might be slightly less intense than Premier football, but hardly less physical.

And it?s strange that those, like Smith, who are bound for the World Cup in just over a year?s time would be jeopardising their health with so much at stake.

Presumably neither the Bermuda Cricket Board nor coach Gus Logie have a problem with those who continue to play both games, but one wonders how many other national cricket teams heading for the World Cup allow their players to run the same risk.

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TALKING of Commercial soccer, and cricket for that matter, of those who played in the early days from the 1970s through the 1990s, there won?t have been many who at some point didn?t come across Roger Berry.

If he wasn?t running a line, filling in as a referee, marking the pitch, repairing the nets or blowing up the balls, he was doing something to lend a hand.

At cricket matches in the summer, if he wasn?t umpiring, he?d volunteer to score. And after the game he and wife Mary could often be seen serving the tea and sandwiches.

After a long illness, Berry died this week at the age of 66. There?s no doubt he?ll leave a void in local sport.

While never much of a player in any of the activities which he followed ? all with unbridled passion ? he was a dedicated worker whose contributions made a huge impact on all of those around him.

Unlike the players, he never sought recognition. He simply loved to be involved, often carrying out the tasks from which others shied away.

Every club in Bermuda could use a Roger Berry.

He?ll be sadly missed.