Clare Connor, the former England cricket captain, will make history as the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) prepare to induct its first female president in its 233-year-old history.
Connor, who is the England and Wales Cricket Board’s managing director of women’s cricket, will take up her new post on October 1, 2021, pending approval by MCC members.
Current MCC President Kumar Sangakkara has been invited to remain in the role for a second 12-month tenure due to the impact of COVID-19 on the cricketing landscape.
“I am deeply honoured to be named the next President of MCC. Cricket has enriched my life so deeply already, and now it hands me this wonderful privilege,” Connor said.
“We often need to look back to see how far we’ve come. I made my first visit to Lord’s as a starry-eyed, cricket-obsessed nine-year-old girl at a time when women were not welcome in the Long Room. Times have changed.
“Now I find myself entrusted with this remarkable opportunity — the opportunity to play a part in helping MCC, cricket’s most influential club, to thrive and grow in an even more modern and inclusive future.
“And as we take small steps to emerge from this uncertain and difficult time, we are going to need the power of sport and strong sporting organisations like MCC more than ever. I really am very proud to have been asked to be its next president.”
If Sangakkara’s two-year term is approved by Members at the MCC AGM, Connor’s tenure will begin on October 1, 2021, and will conclude on September 30, 2022.
