Ebony Rainford-Brent leads ‘game-changing’ initiative to improve cricket’s diversity

The World Cup winner believes ACE can help increase black participation in cricket, with numbers dwindling among British professional players in recent years

Ebony Rainford-Brent during the England vs West Indies third Test at Old Trafford in 2020 (Getty)

World Cup winner Ebony Rainford-Brent ‘would have bitten somebody’s hand off’ to be part of ACE, the charity she founded to increase black participation in cricket.

The rapidly-expanding organisation launched out of Surrey County Cricket Club in January 2020 and has now been nominated for a prestigious London Sport Award, held in association with the City of London Corporation.

Lambeth-born Rainford-Brent’s own introduction to the game came through a community programme when, aged 10, she joined a session run by the London Community Cricket Association. Seven years later, she became the first black woman to play for England.