NEW DELHI: Former England cricketer and ex-England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Hugh Morris has passed away at the age of 62.

Glamorgan, the Welsh county side where Morris played and captained, confirmed on Sunday that he had been battling bowel cancer during an "extremely difficult" final few years.

An accomplished opening batter, Morris appeared in three matches for England and led Glamorgan to the county championship in 1997, his final season before retirement. Over his first-class career, he amassed 19,785 runs at an average of 40.29.

He then served the ECB in a number of roles for 16 years, including as CEO during a successful period for the men's national team.

Morris returned to Glamorgan in 2013 as its CEO and helped the team stave off financial issues.

Dan Cherry, the current Glamorgan CEO, said Morris was "a great player, a tireless administrator, and a fine human being of great dignity and integrity."

"Hugh leaves us with an outstanding legacy, not least a stadium here at Sophia Gardens of international calibre - a far cry indeed from the ground when he first played for Glamorgan as a teenager - plus a Welsh Fire franchise (in The Hundred competition) poised for even greater success in the cricketing landscape of the 2020s and beyond," Cherry said.

(With AP Inputs)