Former Scotland international cricketer Willie Donald has died aged 69.
Donald, born in July 1953 in Huntly, played his club cricket for Aberdeenshire and made his first class debut for Scotland against Ireland in Glasgow in 1978.
He went on to play for his country across an eight-year spell, making eight appearances – all of which came against Ireland in the annual match between the teams.
He scored a total of 221 runs in his eight first-class appearances and took five wickets.
Donald also played List A one-day cricket and featured for Scotland in their inaugural List A match against Leicestershire in the 1980 Benson & Hedges Cup.
He was also a member of the Scotland team which recorded its first one-day victory against Lancashire in Perth in 1986.
A regular member of the one-day team, Donald made 32 appearances, scoring 492 runs which included two half centuries with his best performance coming when he scored 59 against Northamptonshire in 1985.
At club level, Donald was club captain at Shire from 1981 to 1983, before moving to London where he played for Teddington Cricket Club.
Donald returned to Scotland in 1995, joining West Lothian Cricket Club and also served as interim chief executive of Cricket Scotland in 2015.
He served as president of the organisation for two years from 2018 to 2020, during which time he was also appointed president of Aberdeenshire.
Donald stood down from the role at Mannofield last month to focus on his family and his health.
Aberdeenshire captain eager to see through Donald’s vision
Aberdeenshire captain Kenny Reid paid tribute to Donald’s legacy, insisting he is determined to carry through the ambitious vision he set out for the club.
Reid said: “He will be missed. He got the community together and got us all pulling in the same direction.
“It wasn’t until around five years ago he got back involved at the club, which was when I met him.
“When he was at the club he was always so positive and would try and speak to as many people as he could.
“He was also a force to be reckoned with off the field, he didn’t stand for any nonsense and wanted people to be committed. I’m sure that’s how he was on the field as well.
“He had some good ideas about the club and how to progress it, and hopefully we have started on that journey he put in place.
“We are working towards finishing that process, of the vision he had which was to become the biggest and best cricket club in Scotland.
“He was very keen and outspoken about the way the club could grow, both as a social club and on the park.
“There is still a long way to go, the vision was for 2030 so we have a few years. He is the one who has been integral in putting that in place and we will work as a committee and a club to bring that to fruition.”
‘Our thoughts are with his family and the many friends he made’
A Cricket Scotland statement read: “Cricket Scotland is sad to hear the news that former president and Scotland internationalist Willie Donald passed away on 13th November.
“Willie made his debut for Scotland against Ireland in Glasgow in 1978. and went on to play for his country eight times scoring a total of 221 runs and taking 5 wickets.
“He served as interim CEO of Cricket Scotland for a short spell in 2015 and was elected president in 2018.
“At this time, our thoughts are with his family and the many friends he made throughout his life.”
Away from cricket Donald also ran a small executive coaching consultancy focusing on performance improvement and organisational change.
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