Rainford-Brent represented England 29 occasions and was a part of the crew which gained the Girls’s World Cup and the World T20 title in 2009.
Nevertheless, her early experiences on cricket’s pathways after being noticed at main faculty had been “fairly difficult” as a result of she “did not really feel like I fitted in” as a younger black lady from southeast London largely taking part in with and towards kids from extra prosperous backgrounds.
“I used to be excited that you may see there was a path of one thing thrilling forward by representing your county,” she mentioned.
“However there was a number of levels the place I realised fairly rapidly once I moved into cricket I used to be fairly totally different to the ladies that I used to be taking part in with. Different children had been getting one-to-ones [coaching] from aged eight.
“My first cricket bat we purchased in Brixton for £5. I believe it was from just like the Fifties and somebody had simply removed it in a backyard sale, and I used that by to taking part in junior England.”
Rainford-Brent mentioned she needed to cope with feedback about her hair, unfavorable reactions to her mom’s Jamaican meals and initially discovered cricket a “totally different world” the place “there wasn’t range”, which made forging a profession a battle.
“The early days it was ignorance or misunderstanding. Then I needed to cope with some environments the place there was extra specific stuff round issues that affected coaching,” she defined.
“The toughest bit is then being – ‘if I problem this, I’ll lose my spot or my place?’ If I had challenged issues I do not assume it could have labored out properly. In some methods, I want I used to be extra vocal and took on the system.”
In a wide-ranging dialogue with Desert Island Discs presenter Lauren Laverne, Rainford-Brent additionally talked concerning the influence of her brother being stabbed to loss of life when she was 5, and the way her mom labored night time shifts to assist her cricketing desires.
She additionally touches on the African Caribbean Engagement (ACE) charity she established 4 years in the past.
The programme goals to re-engage younger folks of African and Caribbean heritage with cricket and deal with a major decline within the variety of black skilled gamers within the sport.
“To see so many younger folks chase their desires, but additionally in a supportive setting has been actually particular,” mentioned Rainford-Brent.
Hearken to Ebony Rainford-Brent on Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 and by way of BBC Sounds at 10:00 GMT on 8 December.
