Ebs before wicket
Having fully recovered from a career-threatening injury and armed with a new professional contract, Ebony Rainford-Brent is ready to take the world of women’s cricket by storm, as Jack Mitchell discovers
Above: Ebony Rainford-Brent
It’s probably fair to surmise that growing up with a name such as Ebony-Jewel Cora-Lee Camellia Rosamond Rainford-Brent instils a certain degree of patience into a person. Patience is certainly a helpful asset when playing cricket at the highest level, but when faced with three years on the sidelines of the sport through injury, it becomes an absolute necessity.
At the age of just 24, the Surrey and England cricketer from Herne Hill, who (mercifully) is happy to be known simply as ‘Ebs’, has already braved more bad luck with injuries than most encounter in an entire career. “I was bowling when I was 19 and I felt a terrible pain in my back. I was diagnosed with two prolapsed discs,” she explains. “The doctors told me I should give up sport altogether, which left me in a complete state. But the support of my family and friends made a huge difference. It took me three months to be able to walk properly and another year before I could run. Then I finally picked up a bat to have a hit and I thought ‘Wow! I can do this again!’ After such a long journey it was amazing to reach that point and to get to where I am now is unbelievable really.”
Ever since that day, Ebony has set about making up for lost time and the rewards have been impressive, both at county and international level. “I’m opening the batting for Surrey now, which is great. The challenge for me this season is to stay in and make some big scores to really finish the games off.”
A string of imposing displays for Surrey caught the eyes of the England selectors and, in February, Ebony was delighted to be able to rejoin the national side, which she had served consistently at junior level before her injury. She beams as she looks back on her return to the team: “To go from thinking I’d never play any sport again to representing my country out in India was incredible. After so long out, to pull on the England shirt again with Rainford-Brent on the back was just the best feeling. Now we’ve got the West Indies, South Africa and India coming over here, so I’m looking forward to a good summer with England. I’m just loving being back in the squad and training with all the girls again. I’m making a few runs at the moment, which always helps, so hopefully it’ll be a big year for me.”
Things have certainly got off to a good start, as before a ball was even bowled this summer, Ebony received a huge boost from the Cricket Foundation, who awarded her a prestigious coaching contract as part of the ‘Chance to Shine’ scheme, which aims to halt the decline of competitive cricket within state schools. This is an achievement of some significance, not only as it affirms the belief the Ebony has a bright future with England, but also as it helps to bring some much needed respite from what has been a very hectic lifestyle. “It’s a great relief because sometimes it can just be too hard to fit work around playing and training, but now cricket is my job, which is fantastic.”
The new contract means that Ebony can now devote half of her week to training and playing, whilst the rest of the time she spends coaching young cricketing hopefuls in clubs and schools and doing PR work aimed at raising the profile of women’s cricket. As she explains her newfound responsibilities, Ebony is all smiles and brimming with enthusiasm, making it easy to see why the Cricket Foundation chose to make her one of only eight professional, female cricketers in the country. “I love the coaching side of things. It feels great going into schools and running games and competitions and then watching as more and more girls get excited about cricket. Hopefully getting to see the England players on a regular basis will really inspire them.”
Having spent her whole life in south London, the chance to play her part in developing women’s cricket within her own community is clearly very important to Ebony. “One of my favourite things about the coaching is that I‘m doing it in my local area, so I get to work with girls who are growing up in south London, just like I did.”
Now back to full fitness and with her cricketing stock firmly on the rise, it seems certain that Ebony will start to attract the attention of rival counties. However, the chances of her being tempted away from her life with Surrey seem pretty remote: “I love the Oval, it feels like a second home to me. And as I’m a Herne Hill girl, born and bred, it’s great because everything’s within a couple of minutes drive. There’s just so much in the area for me, because most of my family are still based around here as well and I was thinking just recently how much I love it. I want to stay here for the rest of my life.”
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