Clare Connor

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

Connor was born on 1 September 1976 in Brighton, East Sussex, England. She studied English at the University of Manchester, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1998. 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.

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 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.

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". In the 2006 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Cricket"; 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.