WCF is very saddened to hear of the passing of Will George last week.
Will served Warwickshire Cricket in many ways and on numerous committees. Notably, he was the WCF Under 11 League Manager between its inception in 1998 up until 2015. Under his leadership the league grew from around 20 clubs to over 60. It is still running today on Monday nights, a move which Will initiated.
On that WCF Youth Competitions committee he made many friends and the team of Amy Smart (WCB), Steve Hall (10s), Alan Hyatt (12s), John White (U13s), the late Brian Webb (15s) and his great colleague from Olton, Phil Williams (17s) will be aware of his dedication and commitment to cricket and the development of children’s opportunities.
Will was always able to see the bigger picture and keep a sense of perspective when the committee became embroiled in rule & regulations debates. He would stay positive and steer conversations back to what really mattered – making sure loads of kids got opportunities to play. He was a great advocate of the pairs format and spoke wisely about the need to nurture all the kids, not just the super talented ones, reminding everyone that we were developing the club players and volunteers of the future.
WCF was always grateful for Will’s cheerful and sensible views as well as his encouragement for our endeavours and he was rewarded with an Outstanding Services to Cricket Award in 2008, presented by Warwickshire & England Legend, Ashley Giles. Elsewhere in cricket Will served on the Midlands Club Cricket Conference for many years. He also played a lot of cricket at Pickwick, Solihull & Olton & West Warwicks CC.
His sons Chris and Alan also played successfully in Warwickshire cricket and his legacy lives on. Indeed, through Alan, Gala Events, the Company he founded with his father, sponsored the Under 15 Premier League for 10 years.