Windies mourn Test great Walcott

Walcott was renowned as a powerful striker of the ball

Former West Indies cricket great Sir Clyde Walcott has died in a Barbados hospital at the age of 80.

He became famous in the 1950s as one of the three Ws along with Sir Frank Worrell and Everton Weekes.

Walcott scored 3,798 runs in 44 Test appearances at an average of 56.68, including 15 centuries.

He was later manager of the West Indies team which won the 1975 and 1979 World Cup and also had a spell as chairman of the International Cricket Council.

His death comes less than two months after that of one of his on-field adversaries, former England fast bowler Fred Trueman.

But Trueman was not in the England side when Walcott made his highest Test score of 220 against them at his home ground in Bridgetown in February 1954.

His finest achievement came the following year, however, when he became the first batsman to make five centuries in a single series, totalling 827 runs in five centuries against Australia.

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"Clyde had a powerful physique and his batting was based on power and strength. He hit the ball harder than any of us," said Weekes, now the sole survivor of the three Ws, Worrell having died in 1967.

"I first met him when we were about 11 years old. We lived pretty close to each other and played together for many years.

"Whenever I batted with him I enjoyed it and we had some great times together on and off the field."

Lance Gibbs, the most successful spin bowler ever produced by West Indies said of Walcott: "He has been one of our greatest ambassadors.

"I played against him in Guyana and he was a great batsman. He was a great on-side player and if you bowled short at him he was quite prepared to hook."

Gibbs told BBC Sport: "Clyde has always been a dominant individual as far as West Indies cricket is concerned. He will be a great loss indeed."

He was a true friend and a great man Everton Weekes on Walcott

Vanburn Holder, now a first-class umpire in England, played under Walcott the manager a number of times, including the inaugural World Cup in 1975.

"It's very sad. He was very well respected. When he spoke you'd (knew you'd) better listen because he didn't say things twice," said Holder.

"He had a lot to do with the beginning of that era when West Indies dominated world cricket."

He added: "I didn't see him play, but judging from what I've heard and read, so many people can't be wrong. You could rely on him, he was so powerful and strong, and he was the one more often not got runs to keep West Indies going.

Among the youngsters who came through under Walcott were fast bowler Michael Holding, Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards.

Former former fast bowler Wes Hall, who played Test cricket in the 1960s, said Walcott was always "ultra supportive" to the West Indies board.

"Obviously in the last year he was not at his fittest, his illness would have dimmed him somewhat, but his spirit was great.

"He was always a spirit of conviviality in our meetings. Even in his last year, he was there at every turn, offering advice, bringing credence to many of our decisions," he added.

International Cricket Council president Percy Sonn said: "This news has saddened me greatly as cricket has not only lost a legend but also someone who devoted his life to the betterment of our great game.

"As an administrator Sir Clyde was thoughtful and conciliatory and cricket in my homeland of South Africa owes him an enormous debt because he was instrumental in ensuring our return to the international fold in 1991."

His view was echoed by one of his predecessors, Malcolm Gray, who added: "He was a gentle but decisive man for whom cricket always came first and his own ego last."