Clare Connor to leave ECB role after Women’s T20 World Cup
Conor has overseen the transformation of women’s and girls’ cricket in England and Wales for more than 18 years in her role with the board.
Conor was at the helm of many pathbreaking changes that came about in the women’s game as it embraced professionalism in England. Those included introducing the first central contracts for England Women, and overseeing the introduction of a professional structure and professional contracts for domestic female players.
Her inputs and leadership were key to robust systems being put in place for grassroot sports for women and girls.
Her contribution to the game earned her the MBE, OBE and CBE for services to women’s sport. She served for two terms on the Sport England Board and became the first woman to sit on the ICC Cricket Committee before chairing the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee, a role she has held for over a decade.
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In 2021-22 she was the first female President of MCC and then spent nearly a year as the ECB’s Interim Chief Executive Officer in 2022-23.
“Helping to grow women’s cricket for the past 18 years has been an absolute privilege. Having fallen in love with the game in a quite different era from the one we are in now, my goals as an administrator have been firmly rooted in making cricket more equal for women and girls. For it to be as normal for a girl to pick up a cricket bat as a boy. For a young woman to know – not just dream – that she can become a professional cricketer,” Conor said in a statement shared by the ECB.
“To have played a part in removing some of the barriers that were preventing those things from being possible and to know that cricket is now a more inclusive and more gender‑balanced sport, is deeply rewarding.
“What we’ve achieved together has exceeded anything I could have dreamed of when I embarked on this journey 18 years ago,” she added.
As England captain, Connor led England Women to its first Ashes win in 42 years in 2005 before retiring the following year with more than 100 international caps.
She joined the ECB in 2008 as the only employee with sole focus on women’s cricket. As Director of England Women’s Cricket, she oversaw a transformational period for the game including a double triumph by England women in two ICC global events and an Ashes win in 2009, the introduction of professional contracts for 18 players in 2014 and the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup win at Lord’s.
After becoming the ECB’s Managing Director of Women’s Cricket in 2019, with responsibility for grassroots cricket through to the England team, she led the creation of the Transforming Women’s and Girls’ Cricket Action Plan which secured multi million-pound investment to turbocharge the growth of women’s cricket at every level.
After a spell as Interim Chief Executive Officer in 2022, she became Deputy Chief Executive Officer in addition to her role as Managing Director for England Women in 2023, with that year’s thrilling Women’s Ashes series smashing attendance records.
She also co-ordinated the response to the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report.
Published on Feb 10, 2026
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