The Big Interview Part 2: The CSCC Clare Connor Interview
Article Date: 11th May 2005
This advert is part of CSCC Shop 'n Raise
Clare Connor Continued...
Clare Connor of England hits out during the Natwest Women's One Day Series match in 2005
As Chipping Sodbury Cricket Club prepares for the CSCC Women's Cricket Open Day on Sunday 15th May (10.30am-12 Noon) at the cricket club, we continue with Part 2 of the 3 Part interview with Clare Connor, the England Women's Cricket Captain.
Mark Reynolds: How did you come to realise that you might be something special in the world of Women’s Cricket?
Clare Connor: It sounds funny but even when I was 19 I didn’t really know what lay out there in Women’s cricket, I didn’t know that you could travel the world, I didn’t know you could tour India, Australia and New Zealand and I didn’t really know there were all these opportunities out there.
So still at that point I thought my real ambition was being picked for the Brighton College Boys 1st XI and being the first girl to play for a public school boys 1st XI and then had the opportunity to go to Zimbabwe just before I went to university.
I don’t think I harboured any ambition to play county men’s cricket or anything like that. The tour I guess was what I had been building up to all my school life. That was the culmination of all my school cricket, the ambition to play for the 1st XI at school.
But I guess I realised when England won the world cup in 1993 and some of that World Cup winning squad retired in 1993/94 and there was no cricket for the England Women’s team until 1995. There was a 2 year period when everything went really quiet for England Women’s Cricket.
Then there was my selection for England in 1995 which came as a massive shock and came really quickly, it was then that I started to realise wow this is where my cricket really goes from here. I realised that there were unbelievable opportunities in the women’s game, to play for England and to travel.
MR: So you seem to have experienced a lot and you’re only 28 now?
Clare Connor: Yes it’s been amazing, since the Women’s Cricket Governing Body merged with the ECB in 1997/98 we’ve had pretty much a home series and winter tour every year, I guess we’re almost semi-professional now with the funding that we get through Sport England and the Lottery. The expectation on the England squad is a professional one in terms of commitment to training and fitness, so it’s an unbelievable lifestyle. If you can balance it with a career or part-time career or as a lot of our girls are, with university, then it’s fantastic.
MR: What’s the age make up of the England Team?
Clare Connor: The average age is 24.
MR: I heard that Lucy Pearson has just retired from Women’s Cricket, how old was she?
Clare Connor: Yeah Lucy retired, she was in her early 30s.
MR: Ok. If you were the first ever captain of the Chipping Sodbury Cricket Club Women’s XI what would your message be to potential players in the local area?
Clare Connor: Give it a go. We’ve found at Brighton & Hove Cricket Club that lots of women and youngsters are encouraged to give it a go. My message to women and girls in Chipping Sodbury, Yate and Bristol is to see if you enjoy it. I don’t think that anyone has left our local cricket club, no one has left a training session disappointed, people have made new friends and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Playing cricket in a cricket club is a social experience, it can also be a competitive experience. Give it a go, enjoy it. It’s just a great ultimate team experience and it’s available to anyone who wants to give it a go.
MR: What part do you think cricket clubs like Chipping Sodbury have to play in the future of women’s cricket?
Clare Connor: A huge role. Club cricket and school cricket for women and girls is where the wealth of potential lies and if clubs can get a good structure going for women’s cricket then that’s the base of future England teams. A good club structure will lead to good county sides and from there people will progress to the highest level possible.
I’ve always been hugely grateful to the 2 clubs that helped me out, that’s been Preston Nomads when I was a youngster and now Brighton & Hove Cricket Club. Without club cricket you can’t go on to play county cricket and you can’t go on to put an England shirt on, so yes club cricket is vital for the women’s game.
MR: Golf has now allowed women to enter traditionally male only competitions. Do you ever think that men and women could mix and play on the same side in first class cricket?
Clare Connor: There have been a few of our girls who have played for Durham University and Bradford and Leeds, also some of the university academies and they’ve played some first class friendlies I guess you would call them.
I don’t think that it’s an issue that’s ever had to be discussed or worked through. It may happen, but I don’t know if it will. Will women ever compete with men in the First Class game? As you can imagine, it’s a question that I get asked a lot. Who knows? Who knows? We have to have firsts at some point don’t we, that’s what’s so exciting about sport and life and anything, the first time something happens it’s fantastic, momentous and should be celebrated. Whether it will happen I do not know.
MR: What’s the barrier at the moment to stop women playing in men’s first class cricket?
Clare Connor: I don’t know. As far as I know it’s just never arisen. There certainly isn’t a player at the moment that would be ready to play men’s first class cricket. It’s something that I never think about really because our own setup is all we need.
Click Clare Connor for the final part of the 3 part interview with Clare Connor as we talk a bit about the 2005 Women's Cricket World Cup. Or click here: Clare Connor Interview Part 1
If anyone fancies coming along or wants more details then please ring the Women's Team Captain Paula Young on 01454 852429.
