Clare Joanne Connor CBE (born 1 September 1976) is an English former cricketer who batted right-handed and bowled slow left arm spin.[1] She held the presidency of Marylebone Cricket Club from 2021 until 2022.[2] 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.[3]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Clare Joanne Connor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 September 1976 Brighton, East Sussex, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 2) | 5 August 2004 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 2 September 2005 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–2008 | Sussex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004/05 | Central Districts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 12 March 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
She is currently managing director of Women's Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).[4]
Early life and career
editConnor was born on 1 September 1976 in Brighton, East Sussex, England.[5] She was a pupil at Brighton College. She studied English at the University of Manchester, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1998.[5] During her time at Manchester, Clare was a resident at Hulme Hall.
Connor taught English, PSHE and PE at Brighton College while heading up their PR operations, and also spent time working for Channel 4.
Cricket career
editConnor 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 boys' 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.[3][6]
Honours
editIn 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".[7] In the 2006 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Cricket";[8] 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 2018 New Year Honours, again for services to cricket.[9][10]
On 24 June 2020, Connor was announced as the next President of the Marylebone Cricket Club.[11] She assumed the office on 1 October 2021,[12] replacing Kumar Sangakkara, whose term was extended for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] She also became the first woman to be appointed as the President of MCC in the 233 years of MCC club's history.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Clare Connor". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ "Bruce Carnegie-Brown and Clare Connor take office at MCC as Chairman and President respectively". Marylebone Cricket Club. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ a b BBC News article, 13 March 2006
- ^ "England women: India & South Africa tri-series an option - Clare Connor". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ a b "CONNOR, Clare Joanne". Who's Who 2016. Oxford University Press. November 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ Lashings player biography Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 57315". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2004. p. 15.
- ^ "No. 57855". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2005. p. 10.
- ^ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N8.
- ^ "Women's cricket rewarded in wake of World Cup win". The Daily Telegraph. 30 December 2017. p. 6.
- ^ "Clare Connor: Former England captain to become first female MCC president". BBC Sport. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Clare Connor takes charge as MCC's first female president". Sportstar. October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ "Clare Connor set to become first female MCC president". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ Media, P. A. (24 June 2020). "Clare Connor is the first female MCC president in its 233-year history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 June 2020.