Walcott was one of the three Ws along with Sir Frank Worrell and Everton Weekes who shot to fame in the 1950s.

But he first made his mark in 1945-46 when, just 20 years old, he added an unbroken 574 for the fourth wicket with his schoolmate, Worrell, for Barbados against Trinidad at Port of Spain.

In 44 Tests Walcott hit 15 hundreds, and made 3,798 runs at an average of 56.68. His highest Test score was 220 against England in Bridgetown in 1954.

In 1993 Walcott succeeded Sir Colin Cowdrey as chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC) and, the following year, was knighted for his services to cricket.

President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Kenneth Gordon, described Walcott as one of the greats of West Indies cricket.

"Sir Clyde was one of my closest personal friends and he will be remembered for his unique contribution as a player, coach, commentator and administrator," said Gordon.

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.

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

Walcott was also manager of the West Indies team which won the 1975 and 1979 World Cup.

Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding paid tribute to his compatriot.

"On my first tour to England in 1976 he was my manager," Holding told Cricinfo.

"He helped me a lot early in my career. I can give you one example of what Clyde was like. On that tour we'd played against Hampshire and I wasn't very happy.

"I didn't have the best equipment for English conditions, my studs were too short, and I was feeling sorry for myself.

"Clyde could see this because I was sat at the back of the coach on my own and he just came up and sat down next to me -- just to have a chat.

"After I'd told him the problem he suggested a talk to some of the county pros and find out about how to get some new equipment. That was Clyde, he wouldn't wait for you to ask him, he would approach you and try to help."