Former Leeward Islands opener Hayden Walsh has died at the age of 46. Walsh, who played 18 first-class matches and 11 List A games between 1987 and 1999, was found dead in a swimming pool while enjoying an outing with his family at the Dove Cove hotel near Dry Hill in Antigua.
Senior sergeant William Holder said the police were conducting investigations, although they were yet to confirm whether Walsh actually drowned or died due to some other reason. The exact cause of death will be determined when a post-mortem is conducted.
Family and friends along with local cricket personalities, including Leeward Islands Cricket Association president Gregory Shillingford and Antigua and Barbuda Cricket association head, Enoch Lewis, expressed their condolences.
Walsh scored 851 first-class runs at 28.36, and was also involved in coaching and administration. He established a cricket academy - The Antigua Technical Cricket Academy, originally known as the Technical Cricket Clinic - in 1999 with around 20 youngsters.
Since then, the academy has been successful in providing talent for the national youth and senior teams. Players like Devon Thomas, Olando Peters and his son Hayden Walsh Jr were products of the academy.
He was also an active member of the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) and was given a mandate by the organisation last year to create a cricket development committee to address the waning standards in the game. The committee included former West Indian greats like Vivian Richards, Richie Richardson and Curtly Ambrose.