English cricketer dies at 22

London - Matthew Hobden, an English cricketer regarded as one of the most talented up-and-coming players in the country, has died. He was 22.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced Hobden's death on Sunday. It didn't give a cause of death.

Hobden was a bowler who had been selected for the Potential England Performance program for each of the last two years.

He played county cricket for Sussex.

Kevin Shine, the ECB's lead fast bowling coach, says Hobden "was the strongest, most powerful cricketer I've ever seen on that program — up there with elite athletes from different sports. His potential was huge, he was improving rapidly and I'm certain that he would have played for England."

England players wore black armbands in Hobden's memory on the second day of the second test against South Africa in Cape Town on Sunday.