Willie Donald Obituary, Death – Over the course of an eight-year playing career, he made eight appearances for his country, all of which came in the yearly encounter between the two sides versus Ireland. In his eight first-class games, he made 221 runs overall and claimed 5 wickets. Donald participated for Scotland in their first List A match against Leicestershire in the 1980 Benson & Hedges Cup while also playing List A one-day cricket. He was also a member of the Scotland team that defeated Lancashire in Perth in 1986 to earn its maiden one-day triumph. As a consistent player for the one-day squad, Donald made 32 games and scored 492 runs, including two half century.
His finest effort was a 59-run haul against Northamptonshire in 1985. Donald served as Shire’s club captain from 1981 to 1983, and then he moved to London to play for Teddington Cricket Club. Donald returned to Scotland in 1995 and joined the West Lothian Cricket Club. In 2015, he also served as Cricket Scotland’s interim chief executive. From 2018 until 2020, he presided over the group for two years. During that time, he was also named president of Aberdeenshire. Donald resigned from his position at Mannofield last month in order to prioritize his family and his health. Kenny Reid, captain of Aberdeenshire, paid respect to Donald’s legacy and vowed to uphold the lofty goals he had for the team.
He will be missed, said Reid. He brought the neighborhood together and got us all working together. “I didn’t meet him until he became back involved at the club about five years ago.” He always had such a cheerful attitude and tried to talk to as many people as he could when he was at the club. “He wasn’t going to stand for any bullshit, and he wanted everybody to be devoted. He was also a force to be reckoned with off the field. That’s how I’m sure he behaved on the field as well. He provided some fantastic suggestions for the club’s future, and perhaps we’ve already begun the path he laid out. “We are trying to complete the process of realizing his ambition of building Scotland’s biggest and best cricket club.
He was passionate and outspoken about how the club should develop, both in the park and as a social club. Even if the vision was for 2030, there is still a ways to go. He has played a key role in setting that up, and we will work together as a committee and a club to make it happen. “Our hearts go out to his family and all the friends he met,” “Cricket Scotland is saddened to hear the news that former president and Scotland international Willie Donald passed away on November 13,” said a statement from the organization. “Willie made his Scotland debut in 1978 in Glasgow against Ireland. and continued to play for his nation eight times, making 221 runs overall and grabbing 5 wickets.
He was chosen president in 2018 after briefly serving as Cricket Scotland’s temporary CEO in 2015. Our sympathies are currently with his family and the numerous friends he amassed over the course of his life, we said. Aside from cricket, Donald also maintained a small executive coaching firm with an emphasis on fostering organizational change and performance improvement.
