The fiery pace of Terry Burgess was forever extinguished early yesterday afternoon when the former Bailey?s Bay fast bowler passed away in his Hamilton Parish residence, bringing to an end a long fight with cancer.

Burgess, 45, will forever be remembered for the sheer pace of his right arm deliveries that sent fear down the spines of many a batsmen during his reign of terror, his humorous nature and relentless pursuit of overall excellence on the pitch.

Burgess formed part of the all-conquering Bay team of the 1980s and represented Somerset Cricket Club in the annual Cup Match classic and Bermuda at the international level.

?I can remember the first time I had ever faced him when he struck me on my chest with a delivery,? recalled former Somerset Cup Match skipper Andre (Doc) Manders. ?That delivery completely shocked me but we became very good friends after that.?

Manders added: ?Terry always bowled a good line and length and played under me when I was captain of Somerset. He was one of my main strike bowlers in Cup Match.?

Burgess represented Bermuda at the 1986 and 1990 ICC Trophy Tournaments in England and Holland, seizing 22 wickets at an average of 15.45 runs per wicket and a best performance of four wickets for 29 runs against Fiji in 1986.

Only Edwards (26), Noel Gibbons (26) and Winston (Coe) Trott Sr (23) have taken more scalps than Burgess at the ICC Trophy.

Allan Douglas, who played with Burgess on Bermuda?s 1990 ICC Trophy squad in Holland, stated: ?My heart and prayers go out to his family and children. But the wonderful thing is that some months ago Terry gave his heart to the Lord which was brilliant.

?It was just a pleasure playing with him for Bermuda at the ICC Trophy in England one year. Terry and Pacer Edwards opened the bowling and the ground was such where it was similar to Lords (St.David?s) whereas you can go way up on a hill and then look down. Pacer bowled at one end and Terry from the other and that was the first time I was ever able to see a bowler?s foot marks where they ran consistently in the same stride. That was just so brilliant.?

Bailey?s Bay president Stuart Hollis commented: ?Terry is a big loss to this community . . . everybody loved him and he was well respected. Terry did lot for our club and I played with him. He was a beautiful person and a real inspiration for others. He was really serious about the game.?

Hollis also worked with Burgess at the Westgate Correctional Facility in Dockyard until the latter resigned a few years ago.

Burgess is now the third club member at Bay to pass away this year following the untimely deaths of club groundsman Scott Gibbons and die-hard fan Frederick (Scotchman) Smith.

Childhood friend and Bay team-mate Charlie Marshall recalled some of the good old days growing up in Claytown.

?We all attended Francis Patton Primary School together and played tennis ball cricket down in Cart Road. That?s where we were practised to become good cricketers. We played a lot of neighbourhood cricket in those days.?

Hours of practice with the tennis ball would later culminate in success on the pitch for both Burgess, Marshall and former Bay skipper Noel Gibbons.

?Terry was a very aggressive bowler who was always willing to put the time, effort and hard work into his game,? Marshall continued.

?That?s why he was able to produce the goods whenever he played. He was a die-hard and loved playing for Bay.

?Terry?s loss is very devastating and a lot of individuals in the community are having difficulty coming to grips with his passing. He never gave up until the last ball was bowled.?