Clare Connor says cricket must seize initiative after World Cup success

In the afterglow of the World Cup triumph the England and Wales Cricket Board director of women’s cricket has called on the sport to seize the moment, grab sponsorship opportunities and expand the game in India. Clare Connor said the next move was crucial for the sport.

“It was an unbelievably special day but it’s what you do next,” Connor said. “Take track cycling. During the Olympics, everyone loves it. Millions are watching but don’t know what is going on in the intervening years. We can’t let that happen.”

Citing the need for new commercial partners and better domestic competitions, Connor, also a member of the International Cricket Council’s world cricket committee, has pledged to stay in her role to consolidate gains of the past month.

“The tournament, with all the statistics around it, is building a bigger and stronger business case for the women’s game. There has to be a correlation between what has happened here and investment. We know it isn’t a saturated market.

“For a much smaller sponsorship fee, you can get great rights with great women who are hot property, brilliant role-models that are very accessible and forthcoming.

“If you are a feminist, if you want to see progress and improvement and credibility and want to be part of that movement and that journey, then you don’t need a major sum of money.”

Numbers told the story: the global television audience topped 50m through the tournament – an 80% spike from 2013 – with the final alone winning 1.16m viewers in the UK on Sky, more than the men’s Champions Trophy final in June.

The BBC also reported 1.5m unique browsers for their women’s cricket page during the final, with video clips on the site streamed 2.4m times across the month. The next trick, Connor knows, is retaining this new audience.

Connor is emphatic that, despite her credentials, she is “definitely not done” with her current job. “There are a couple of years of unfinished business. I want to look back and know we maximised this period. Everyone is saying ‘this will be a game-changer’ but that’s a retrospective thing. It is up to us. What do we want to change?”

To kickstart the process, Connor is floating a summit of global stakeholders, building on ICC meetings this April. “What collectively are we going to commit to and make sure happens?”

India features prominently in all forward-looking discussions, not least calls for the introduction of a women’s Indian Premier League following their side’s unexpected run to the final. “There have been murmurings for a while,” Connor said. “It would be powerful. But we have to balance that. We are in a position the men’s game would envy in terms of our calendar is less congested.”

She echoes the head coach Mark Robinson’s point on the importance of more international matches in the calendar, while also wary that the top level needs “challenging domestic cricket” to support it.

In England, that is partly secured by the semi-professional Kia Super League – the six-team T20 tournament starting its second season on 10 August. This summer, the first six group games will be televised live on Sky, as well as Finals Day on 1 September. “I am really optimistic about the Super League,” Connor said. “The players recognise this moment in time and the opportunity for the competition. This is our next best showcase.”

It will now also include Indian representation with Harmanpreet Kaur, fresh from her unbeaten 171 against Australia to put her side into the World Cup decider, joining Surrey Stars.

“How amazing for those young players to be in a dressing room with Anya Shrubsole, Heather Knight, Stefanie Taylor, Harmanpreet Kaur, Tammy Beaumont?” Connor said. “If I was a 17-year-old girl now in that competition I would just be bursting with excitement.”