West Indian cricketer Clyde Walcott. - File

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP):

CLYDE WALCOTT, a West Indies cricket legend and the first non-British chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), died yesterday at a hospital, his wife, Muriel, said. He was 80. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Walcott, a Barbados native known for his powerful batting, was part of the famed West Indies 'Three Ws' formation in the 1950s, along with Frank Worrell and Everton Weekes.

The trio, who were born within a year of each other in Bridgetown, featured in the emergence of the West Indies as a force in the game after World War II.

"His contribution to the game all over the globe, and to Barbados and the West Indies, were among the best in the history of the game. It was invaluable," said Rudi Webster, a former manager of the West Indies team. "He was one of our icons. He was a truly great man."

Steady medium-pace bowler

Walcott was a strong right-handed batsman, steady medium-pace bowler and an occasional wicketkeeper. He scored 3,788 runs, with 15 centuries, in 44 Tests for the West Indies from 1948-60. His batting average of 56.68 is 15th in the all-time rankings.

"Clyde had a powerful physique and his batting was based on power and strength," Weekes said. "He hit the ball harder than any of us."

Walcott kept wicket in 15 Tests before back problems forced him to give it up.

"He was a true friend and a great man," Weekes said. "Whenever I batted with him, I enjoyed it, and we had some great times together on and off the field. He was a pretty quiet person but would always find time to talk to you and find out what was going on."

Walcott later coached in Barbados and was manager of the West Indies teams that won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979. His time as manager, selector and eventually president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) from the late 1970s through the early 1990s coincided with the most successful period of West Indies cricket, when the team did not lose a Test series for 15 years.

In 1993, when he resigned as WICB head to become ICC chairman, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for "his services to cricket and cricket administration in the West Indies and internationally."