Clare Connor

Clare Joanne Connor, CBE (born 1 September 1976) is an English former all-round cricketer who bats right-handed and bowls slow left arm spin.[1] She made her England One Day International debut in 1995 and played her first Test match that winter. She achieved a hat-trick against India in 1999 and captained England from 2000 until her retirement from international cricket in 2006.[2]

Clare Connor
CBE

Personal information
Full name	Clare Joanne Connor
Born	(1976-09-01) 1 September 1976 Brighton, England
Nickname	Des O
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 120)	10 December 1995 v India
Last Test	24 August 2004 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 69)	19 July 1995 v Denmark
Last ODI	1 September 2005 v Australia
ODI shirt no.	1
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1991–present	Sussex women
2004–2005	Central Districts Hinds
Career statistics
Competition WTest WODI WT20I Matches 16 93 2 Runs scored 502 1,087 15 Batting average 20.08 16.46 15.00 100s/50s 0/1 0/5 0/0 Top score 61 85* 9* Balls bowled 2,061 3,580 36 Wickets 24 80 0 Bowling average 27.91 26.01 – 5 wickets in innings 1 1 0 10 wickets in match 0 n/a n/a Best bowling 5/65 5/49 – Catches/stumpings 7/– 25/– 2/–
Source: cricketarchive.com, 14 August 2007

She is currently the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).[3]

Early life and career

Connor was born on 1 September 1976 in Brighton, East Sussex, England.[4] She studied English at the University of Manchester, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1998.[4] During her time at Manchester Clare was a resident at Hulme Hall.

Connor taught English, P.S.H.E and PE at Brighton College while heading up their PR operations, and also spent time working for Channel 4.

Cricket career

Connor first came to prominence by captaining the U16 at Preston Nomads, a leading club side in Sussex. The youth manager, Malcolm Reid, was responsible for this appointment and the move was supported by the club. She also played for the Brighton College (men's) team a little before her England career began. She has also appeared in The Cricketer Cup (in 2002), the first woman ever to do so. In 2004/05 she captained the England side to the semi-finals of the 2005 Women's World Cup in South Africa, and that winter also played state cricket for Central Districts Women in New Zealand.

In 2006, she became the first woman to play for the all-star charity side, Lashings World XI.[2][5]

Honours

In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, Connor was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "for services to Women's Cricket".[6] In the 2006 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Cricket";[7] at the same time, the men's winning Ashes Team also received honours. As the current director of English women's cricket, following the team's success in winning the 2017 World Cup she was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's 2018 New Year Honours list.[8]

On 24 June 2020 via online platforms, Connor was announced as the next President of the Marylebone Cricket Club and she will assume her duties in the office as President as of 1 October 2021 replacing Kumar Sangakkara whose term was extended to further six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] She also became the first woman to be appointed as the President of MCC in the 233 years of MCC club's history.[10][11]

References

1. "Clare Connor". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
2. BBC News article, 13 March 2006
3. "England women: India & South Africa tri-series an option - Clare Connor". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
4. "CONNOR, Clare Joanne". Who's Who 2016. Oxford University Press. November 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
5. Lashings player biography Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
6. "No. 57315". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2004. pp. 13–15.
7. "No. 57855". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2005. pp. 9–10.
8. "Women's cricket rewarded in wake of World Cup win". Daily Telegraph. 30 December 2017. p. 6.
9. "Clare Connor set to become first female MCC president". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
10. "Clare Connor: Former England captain to become first female MCC president". BBC Sport. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
11. Media, P. A. (24 June 2020). "Clare Connor to become first female MCC president in its 233-year history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 June 2020.

External links

• 60 Seconds Extra interview with Metro: Clare Connor