Picture Credit: MCC
Former England skipper Clare Connor on Friday took over the office of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) as the first ever female president of the club in its 234-year-old history. Connor has taken the reigns from former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara, who held the post since 2019 for two years.
Clare Connor was made the lifetime honorary member of the MCC in 2009. She was nominated for the President post of the MCC by her predecessor Sangakkara in last year’s Annual General meeting but had to wait for one year to take the charge due to COVID. Subsequently, Sangakkara held the post for an extended year.
I am truly honoured to be MCC President: Connor
On her historic appointment, Ashes winning skipper Clare Connor thanked Sangakkara for putting faith on her and stated that she is truly honoured to hold the president post. “I am truly honoured to be MCC President and would like to thank Kumar Sangakkara for putting his faith in me to deliver this enormously important role, for the good of the sport I have loved all my life,” Connor said.
Connor, who is the current ECB Managing Director of Women’s cricket, further stated, "I will try to bring my range of experiences from the dressing room and the boardroom to support, influence and work alongside the club's leadership and committees over the next 12 months. I am really looking forward to being part of the MCC team". Along with Connor, Bruce Carnegie-Brown has been appointed as chairman of the MCC.
Connor has made some landmark contributions in women’s cricket
In her administration career, Clare Connor has made some remarkable decisions for and contributions to the women's cricket. Her inputs include the introduction of central contracts for England’s women cricketers in 2014 and first tranche of domestic contracts for female cricketers last year. She was also instrumental in the launch of women’s The Hundred this year.
Talking about her professional cricket career front, Connor debuted for England in 1995 and took over the captaincy five years later in 2000. She led the England women's team to their first Ashes win over Australia 1-0 in 42 years in 2005. She retired from International cricket soon after the series victory.