Bailey?s Bay Cricket Club bade farewell yesterday to promising young groundsman Scott Gibbons.

Gibbons, 34, became the Island?s first road fatality of 2005 earlier this week when he succumbed to severe head injuries following a horrific three-vehicle collision on the Causeway in St.George?s.

He was laid to rest yesterday at Holy Trinity Church in Hamilton Parish following a funeral service at nearby St.John?s AME Church on Wilkinson Avenue, Bailey?s Bay.

The former Bay left-handed all-rounder and dedicated club member is the brother-in-law of Social Club and St.George?s Cricket Club Cup Match batsman, Glenn Blakeney.

?Scott was a very dedicated member who loved Bailey?s Bay and was willing to assist in any way that was possible,? recalled Bay president, cousin and Godfather of the deceased, Stuart Hollis.

?He had hopes of becoming our main groundsman and we were thinking about sending him away to school because he loved it so much.

?Scott just loved being around Bay helping out in any way that he could. And I can honestly tell you that Scott was well loved in Bay.

?He was my first Godson and I loved him. Scott wasn?t a perfect person . . . nobody is. But the heart is what a man is judged by and Scott certainly had a very big heart.?

Brother-in-law Blakeney recalled how Gibbons, cousin of former Bay skipper Noel, once spurred the team to victory batting at the rear.

?I remember one particular time playing at Southampton Oval. Rangers only needed one more wicket to win the match while we needed 15 runs or something like that,? recalled an emotional Blakeney, struggling to find words.

?He and Trent Simmons took us all the way to the end and we managed to win the game. I also played with Scott at Hamilton Parish.?

Only last summer Scott received valuable pointers from senior groundsman, Sheridan Raynor, at Sea Breeze Oval.

?He had told me that he was interested in doing the pitch down there (Sea Breeze). But I didn?t believe him until one day I actually saw him prepare the pitch,? added Blakeney, who is married to Gibbons? sister Twynika.

?He told me that was something that he really wanted to do and I encouraged him to continue doing it and learn as much as he could.?

Gibbons is the third Bay groundsman to pass away in the last two years following the deaths of McDonald (Bull) Swan and Eugene Lloyd (Josh) Smith in 2003.