Sussex skipper Chris Adams believes future success for the county will serve as a lasting memorial to Umer Rashid.

The 26-year-old all-rounder, who had been at the club for three years, and his 18-year-old brother Burhan, drowned on Monday during a trip to a waterfall in Grenada where Rashid was taking part in Sussex's pre-season tour.

Adams spoke for the first time about the sense of disbelief he and his team-mates were feeling following the tragic death of one of the most popular members of the squad.

He said: "How we are feeling is nothing compared to the grief Umer and his brother's family are experiencing. Our thoughts are with them and, as a club, we will do everything we can to help them come to terms with what has happened.

"We will remember Umer as someone full of life and vitality all the time.

"Even in times when the side has struggled, he was always smiling. He created a positive vibe in the squad which is going to be irreplacable."

Rashid scored nearly 2,000 runs for the county and took 122 wickets and Adams believes he was on the verge of even greater achievements.

"He was one of the most naturally talented cricketers I have ever played with who would have gone on to greater things in the game.

"He was going in the right direction and improving all the time as a cricketer. All the targets we had set him he had achieved and even on the tour you could see that he had worked hard in the winter and was bowling well."

Rashid's death comes less than a fortnight after Surrey all-rounder Ben Hollioake was killed in a car crash in Perth, Australia.

Ironically, Sussex play Surrey at the Oval in their opening Championship match of the season on April 19.

Adams added: "Getting back to playing again is something both sides are going to find hard to do, but it is a step forward we will both have to make."

John Emburey, coach of Rashid's former county Middlesex, said: "Umer was a lovely guy who never had a bad word to say about anyone. He was just an easy-going guy. He was a good county cricketer who knew the role he was playing in the Sussex team."