Ebony Rainford-Brent, the Director of Women’s Cricket at Surrey – and Chair of the ACE Programme, has been appointed MBE.
Rainford-Brent was born in Brixton, close to The Kia Oval, and joined the Club’s youth system, first playing for Surrey in the U11s.
She made her senior debut for the Club in 2000, taking 2/7 against Sussex. As a player she represented Surrey 56 times in List A cricket and a further six times in T20, scoring 1,704 runs and captaining the Club.
She became the first black woman to play for England, winning the World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the Ashes and scoring 430 runs.
Thanks @surreycricket ❤️❤️❤️ Walked through your doors 27 years ago and haven’t left! A big part of my journey thanks for all the support over the years and hope to keep repaying your investment https://t.co/tfqxQmMUGw
— Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent MBE (@ejrainfordbrent) June 11, 2021
However, it is off the field that she has had a transformative affect on the Club. Since retirement she has joined the Surrey CCC Board of Directors, playing a key role in the creation of the Surrey Stars that represented the Club in now defunct Kia Super League. She was also central to the opening of the Jan Brittin Room in the Micky Stewart Members’ Pavilion, honouring the trailblazing Surrey opener who was her childhood hero.
Last year, she set up up the ACE [Afro-Caribbean Engagement] Programme, a charity that started within Surrey CCC and has now been created as an independent organisation with nascent programmes in Birmingham and Bristol.
Rainford-Brent has also embarked on a highly successful media career, spanning both television and radio with regular appearances on BBC Test Match Special and Sky Sports Cricket, recently winning a BAFTA for her work on a programme discussing her experiences as a Black cricketer with former West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding last summer.
