Former England women's cricket captain Claire Connor is one of six new members to be appointed to the board of Sport England by sport minister Hugh Robertson.

London Marathon chief executive Nick Bitel; the former chief executive of Cumbria County Council, Peter Stybelski; and former Darlington Building Society chief executive Peter Rowley have also been appointed. Sadie Mason, chief executive of Active Sussex, and Hanif Malik, the chief executive of Hamara Healthy Living Centre in Leeds, complete the line-up of new board members at Sport England.

Robertson said: "These six new appointments bring an excellent mix of skills and experience to Sport England, from sport and local government, to business and social enterprise. "I believe their insight and experience will prove invaluable as together we work to capitalise on the inspirational power of the Olympics to increase participation in sport."

Sport England chair Richard Lewis added: "[The new members'] skills and experience are what we need to deliver our strategy now - in the same way that they will be needed by the non-exec arm of the merged organisation - to make sure we achieve excellence in sport at every level." Each of the six new members will serve for a two-year term with immediate effect.

Image: Sport England chair Richard Lewis (left) with new board member Claire Connor