Cardigan Adolphus Connor (born 24 March 1961) is an

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

n born former English

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. Connor was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

and a right-arm fast-medium bowler.

Career

Connor left his home island of

in 1979 to pursue a cricketing career in England. Connor was signed by

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

in 1979 and remained at the club for five years playing in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...

. Connor was eventually spotted by former Hampshire cricketer Charlie Knott who recommended him to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, who signed him for the 1984 season. Connor made his first-class debut for Hampshire against

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. This was to the first of Connor's 221 first-class matches for the club. The same year Connor made his List-A debut against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

in the John Player Special League. Connor would go on to play 300 one-day matches for the club. Connor formed a deadly partnership with his fellow

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...

new ball bowler

Malcolm Marshall Malcolm Denzil Marshall (18 April 1958 – 4 November 1999) was a Barbadian cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, Marshall is widely regarded as one of the greatest and one of the most accomplished fast bowlers of the modern era in Test cricket ...

, often trying to compete with his partner for pace. Connor was a member of the 1988

Benson and Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals. It was the third major one-day competition established in Engla ...

Hampshire team, taking two

wickets In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at each end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a ...

in the final at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

. A further honour came in 1991 when Connor was again a member of the Hampshire winning team, this time in the

1991 NatWest Trophy The 1991 NatWest Trophy was a limited-overs English county cricket tournament, held between 26 June and 7 September 1991. The competition was won by Hampshire who beat Surrey by 4 wickets in the final at Lord's. Format The seventeen first-cl ...

where he took three wickets, including that of future

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

batsman

Graham Thorpe Graham Paul Thorpe (1 August 1969 – 4 August 2024) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey, and represented England in 100 Test matches. He also played 82 One Day Internationals (ODIs) including appearances at the ...

for 93. There was call for Connor being called up to the England one-day squad, but this never materialised. Connor tasted success for a second time in the Benson and Hedges Cup, this time in 1992 when Hampshire beat

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. Connor took a single wicket in the match, that of

Mark Ealham Mark Alan Ealham (born 27 August 1969) is a former English cricketer, who played Test cricket, Test and One Day International cricket. He played domestic cricket for Kent County Cricket Club and Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club as an all-rou ...

. In 1994 he was named the Hampshire Cricket Society Player of the Year. By this time Connor was something of a cult figure at the County Ground. Connor took his best innings bowling figures during the 1996 County Championship. In a match against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

he took 9/38, this at a time when

had retired. Connor made his final first-class appearance for Hampshire in a

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

match against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

in 1998, although that season he played just four first-class matches for the club. His final one-day appearance came on 13 September 1998 in an AXA League match against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. Connor retired at the end of the 1998 season. In total Connor took over 1,000 wickets for Hampshire. Testament to Connor's cult figure at the club, his benefit year raised £147,000.

After cricket

After retiring from cricket, Connor returned to Anguilla. He was Anguilla's 'chef de mission' (team manager) at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

in Manchester. Connor currently works as a hotel masseur and a fitness coach, with a website calling him ''"the island's most popular personal trainer".'' At the Anguillian general election in April 2015 Connor was elected in District 7 – West End for the Anguilla United Front. After the 2025 Anguillan general election, Connor became deputy premier to newly-elected premier

Cora Richardson-Hodge Cora Richardson-Hodge is an Anguillan politician who is the Premier of Anguilla, member of the House of Assembly (Anguilla), House of Assembly for Sandy Hill (Anguilla House of Assembly Constituency), Sandy Hill, and leader of the Anguilla United ...

References

External links

Cardigan Connor

Cricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...

Cardigan Connor
at CricketArchive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Cardigan 1961 births Living people Anguillan expatriate sportspeople in England English cricketers Anguillan cricketers Hampshire cricketers Buckinghamshire cricketers Anguillan cricket coaches People from The Valley, Anguilla