Clare Connor will leave the England role after the Women’s T20 World Cup

England Women managing director Clare Connor will leave the England and Wales Cricket Board after the Women’s T20 World Cup this summer.

Connor, who is also Executive Vice President of the European Central Bank, has worked at the organization for 18 years.

Before that, the 49-year-old earned 111 caps in various competitions during his 10-year England career, famously captaining them to victory in the 2005 Ashes. She combined playing with a job as a teacher.

Connor, one of the game’s most influential administrators, becomes the first female president of Marylebone Cricket Club in the 2021-22 season.

She became the first woman to sit on the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket Committee and remains Chair of the governing body’s Women’s Cricket Committee.

Connor also served as interim CEO of the European Central Bank between 2022 and 2023.

The Ashes victory she captained in 2005 was the first time England’s women had beaten Australia in 42 years.

She retired from playing at the age of 29, and her impact on the game in the boardroom was arguably greater than on the field.

In Connor’s time with the ECB, English women’s cricket moved from an amateur game to a professional era, including multiple changes to the domestic structure.

The decision to leave is a personal one, and Conor’s exit will come after the World Cup, which ends with the final at Lord’s on July 5.

“Helping to grow women’s cricket over the past 18 years has been an absolute privilege,” Connor said.

“Having fallen in love with the game in a very different era to the one we live in now, my goals as an administrator were firmly rooted in making cricket more equal for women and girls.

“That it should be as natural for a girl to pick up a cricket bat as a boy. That a young woman should know – not just dream – that she can become a professional cricketer.

“Playing a part in removing some of the barriers that were preventing these things from happening and knowing that cricket is now a more inclusive and more gender-balanced sport is very rewarding.”