Sussex cricket was in mourning today as the county club tried to come to terms with the tragic death of all-rounder Umer Rashid.

The 26-year-old and his 18-year-old brother Burhan both drowned after getting into difficulties whilst swimming at Concord Falls, a popular tourist attraction on the west coast of Grenada.

The county had been on the small Caribbean island for 11 days preparing for the new season which starts in three weeks time.

They had played six warm-up matches against Grenada, Yorkshire and Northamptonshire, the last three as part of a triangular tournament involving the other two English counties.

Rashid, a left-arm spinner and useful middle order batsman, had played in five of the matches. The two remaining scheduled fixtures, including tomorrow's final against Northamptonshire, have been cancelled.

Yesterday's game between Yorkshire and Northants was abandoned as a mark of respect when the players were told of the tragedy.

Sussex coach Peter Moores broke the news to the rest of the squad yesterday afternoon while they were enjoying a scheduled rest day.

All are devestated at the loss of a talented and popular member of a tightly-knit group of players.

Moores said: "The players are finding it hard to come to terms with what has happened, but it can't come close to the grief Umer and Mohammed's family are feeling at this moment and our sympathies go out to them at this time."

Rashid signed for Sussex in 1999 after four seasons with Middlesex where he played just a handful of first team games.

He quickly established himself as a key member of the team, helping the county win the National League second division title in 2000 and the County Championship's second division last season.

Rashid played 112 games for Sussex, scoring nearly 2000 runs including two centuries and taking 122 wickets in all competitions with his left-arm spin.

Although he was born in Southampton, he was raised in Ealing, west London and studied at South Bank University where he played for the combined universities team before embarking on a professional career.

His is the second tragedy to hit the sport in less than two weeks following the death of England and Surrey all-rounder Ben Hollioake who was killed in a car accident in Perth, Australia on March 24.

Ironically, Sussex are due to play Surrey at the Oval in the first game of the new season on April 19.

Today there were calls for the match to be cancelled as a mark of respect to both players.