Clare Connor joins the Sussex board of directors © Cricinfo Ltd.

Clare Connor, the former England women's captain, has been elected onto the Sussex board as a non-executive director.

Connor, who played 16 Tests and 93 one-day internationals, led England to a 1-0 Ashes triumph back in 2005 and retired later that year.

"It's an honour to be asked to join the board and I feel it will dovetail nicely with my role at the ECB," Connor said. "It's an exciting time to be involved in cricket at this level of governance and as a born and bred Sussex girl, I'm obviously passionate about seeing the county be the best it can be."

Connor was appointed the ECB's head of women's cricket last October and, in addition, she brings her business experience - she was head of PR at Brighton College - to the new Sussex role.

Sussex chief executive Gus Mackay said: "We are delighted that Clare has agreed to join the board and brings a wealth of experience with her.

"More importantly she has played for Sussex and captained England to the Ashes victory in 2005 and her knowledge of cricket will be a major asset."