At the end of the season, Club members were saddened by the news of the sudden and tragic death of Dr Ross Bailey who drowned in Sri Lanka. Ross Bailey was an early member of “The Willows", joining as part of his lifetime interest and involvement in sport.
He excelled at hockey and he represented and captained Canterbury. His love of that game continued into later years with his extensive involvement in coaching. In cricket, he was a member of the Hospital team for 28 seasons, initially in the Mercantile Grade and then more recently in the “President’s Grade” of the CCA.
In many years Ross completed 500 runs for the season and once he also delighted in taking more than 50 wickets with his slow left arm spin. Occasionally, he also kept wicket, and captain the Hospital side for many years. In recent times he had also enjoyed playing for the High School Old Boys’ “Golden Oldies” team.
Dr Bailey had a worldwide reputation as a kidney specialist, one of a handful of top international experts in this area of speciality and he was the first New Zealander to hold the prestigious position of councillor with the International Society of Nephrology. He established Christchurch Hospital’s renal transplantation programme in 1972, and throughout his career, his outstanding research skills and commitment and dedication to his patients was widely acknowledged. He was also instrumental in getting individuals to donate their kidneys, in the event of their death by accident.
His achievements in medicine, and in sport, are impressive but he will be remembered for much more. If Ross was sometimes competitive, he was always fair and generous with colleagues and fellow cricketers alike. He was a sportsman in both senses of the word. Ross Bailey will be greatly missed by his wife, Lesley, and their four children, by his colleagues and his patients, and by his team mates and friends at “The Willows”.