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

Connor, who is also the ECB’s deputy chief executive, has been with the organisation for 18 years.

Prior to that, the 49-year-old won 111 caps across formats in a 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 most influential administrators in the game, became the first female president of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2021-22.

She became the first woman to sit on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) cricket committee and remains the chair of the governing body’s women’s cricket committee.

Connor also served as the ECB’s interim chief executive between 2022 and 2023.

The Ashes triumph she led in 2005 was the first time England women had beaten Australia for 42 years.

She retired from playing at the age of 29 and has arguably had an even greater impact on the game in the boardroom than on the field.

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

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

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

“Having fallen in love with the game in a quite different era from the one we are in now, my goals as an administrator have been firmly rooted in making cricket more equal for women and girls.

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

“To have played a part in removing some of the barriers that were preventing those things from being possible and to know that cricket is now a more inclusive and more gender balanced sport, is deeply rewarding.”