Ebony Rainford-Brent facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name |
Ebony-Jewel Cora-Lee Rosamond Camellia Rainford-Brent
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| Born | 31 December 1983 Lambeth, Greater London, England |
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| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast-medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| ODI debut (cap 98) | 11 August 2001 v Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 1 March 2010 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 21) | 22 August 2008 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 4 March 2010 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2012 | Surrey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 6 March 2021
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Ebony Rainford-Brent is a famous English former cricket player. She was born on December 31, 1983. She made history as the first black woman to play for the England women's cricket team.
Ebony was a key player in the England team that won the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup in Australia. They beat New Zealand in the final in March 2009. After this, the team also won the 2009 ICC Women's World Twenty20 and kept the Women's Ashes.
After she stopped playing cricket, Ebony became a well-known sports expert. She works as a commentator for BBC's Test Match Special and Sky Sports. She is also the Chair of the African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) programme. This program helps young black people get involved in cricket. She is also a Non-Executive Director at The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Early Life and Challenges
Ebony Rainford-Brent was born in Lambeth, Greater London, on New Year's Eve in 1983. She grew up in Herne Hill, a part of southeast London. She was the youngest of four children and the only girl in her family.
Her journey into cricket started when she was nine years old. A charity called Cricket for Change visited her primary school. She later went to the Grey Coat Hospital school. Ebony was very good at many sports, including football and basketball. She even represented London in athletics, but she chose to focus on cricket.
Her promising cricket career faced a big challenge because of a serious back injury. When she was 19, doctors told her she had two serious disc problems. They even advised her to stop playing sports completely.
However, Ebony did not give up. She sought help from many specialists. The Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme (TASS) program gave her the treatment and support she needed. After nearly three years, she recovered enough to play for England again in 2007. She also finished her studies at University College London (UCL), earning a Masters degree in Chemistry.
Playing Cricket
Ebony Rainford-Brent played for Surrey throughout her entire cricket career. She started playing for their under-11s team and moved up to the senior team. She became the captain of the Surrey Women's team. In 2011, she led them to the top division of women's domestic cricket.
One of her best moments in international cricket was winning the Player of the Match award against the West Indies in 2009. She scored 72 runs without being out. This was a career high for her.
Ebony is also a fully qualified cricket coach. She helps train other coaches and uses special techniques like neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to help athletes.
Working in Media
After her playing career, Ebony Rainford-Brent became a popular voice in sports media. She has hosted matches for Surrey County Cricket men's games. She has also appeared as a guest presenter on BBC Newsround. You might have seen her as an expert on Sky Sports and BBC Breakfast.
Since 2012, she has been a regular on BBC radio's Test Match Special (TMS). She started by talking about women's games. Later, she began commenting on men's international matches too. In 2014, she was part of the TMS team covering the men's 2015 Cricket World Cup.
In 2020, Ebony joined the Sky Sports cricket commentary team. She and fellow commentator Michael Holding were recognized for speaking out against racism. They received the Freedom of the City of London award in December 2020. They also won a BAFTA award in 2021 for their work. In November 2020, she won the Sports Journalists’ Association's (SJA) Sport for Social Change award alongside Marcus Rashford.
In December 2024, Ebony was a guest on the BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs.
Cricket Leadership Roles
Even during her playing days, Ebony Rainford-Brent started working as a leader in cricket. She was one of the first ambassadors for Chance to Shine. This charity helps teach cricket and gives motivational talks to schools across England and Wales.
In 2011, she began working for the charity Lord's Taverners. She became the Cricket Programmes Manager. In this role, she created national programs to help young people with disadvantages or disabilities play sports.
In 2013, she was chosen to be a Trustee for the England and Wales Cricket Board Trust (EWCT). This means she helped guide the charity's work.
In 2014, Ebony became the first Director for Surrey Women's Cricket. She works to improve women's cricket at the club. She also helps develop strategies to get more girls and women playing the sport.
In January 2020, she started Surrey's African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) programme. This program aims to encourage black teenagers to play cricket. By 2023, it had reached 10,000 children. Many young players are now training regularly through the program.
For her great work in cricket and charity, Ebony was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2021. In 2023, she joined the ECB Board as a Cricket Non-executive Director. She also received an honorary degree from Loughborough University for her contributions to cricket, broadcasting, and promoting diversity in sport.
Ebony Rainford-Brent is also an ambassador for Beyond Sport, continuing her work to make sports open to everyone.
