Biography
Born New Year's Eve in 1983 at St Thomas' Hospital, she was raised in Herne Hill, South-East London. She was the youngest of four children and being the only girl there were squabbles over her name which led her being named Ebony-Jewel Cora-Lee Camellia Rosamond Rainford-Brent to appease everyone.
Her introduction to cricket came courtesy of the charity Cricket for Change, who visited Ebony's primary school (Jessop Primary School) in her final year. She then attended the Grey Coat Hospital school in Westminster, London, from 1995 until 2002.
Whilst at Grey Coat Hospital, Rainford-Brent showed considerable sporting prowess and was equally successful at many sports including football and basketball, even representing London at the English Schools Athletics Championships in several disciplines, but she decided to focus on cricket.
Her development, however, was interrupted by a serious back injury, first at the age of 15 when bowling at The Oval, then again at 19 when she was diagnosed with two prolapsed discs. The problems caused her to take a year out from her studies at University College London (UCL), and NHS doctors advised her to give up playing any form of sport.
She sought a second opinion and was put in contact with the Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme (TASS) programme, who helped to guide her on the road to recovery. Fortunately, the injury abated and she then combined a demanding training schedule with her studies, touring with the England team for six weeks in Chennai, India in 2007.
Ebony spent many years playing for Redoubtables Women's Cricket Club in Croydon but has since moved to Shepperton CC and plays alongside fellow England women's cricket team mates Nicki Shaw and Caroline Atkins.
She has been involved with Ashtead Cricket's junior section as a level 2 qualified coach.
Rainford-Brent is also a singer, drummer and guitarist.
She was named UCL Sportswoman of the Year in March 2007, and graduated from UCL in June 2007 with a Masters in Chemistry having already achieved a BSc in the same subject.
On 14 April 2008 Rainford-Brent was named as one of eight members of the England Women's team offered a coaching contract in partnership with the Cricket Foundation and the England and Wales Cricket Board. This role sees her take up a coaching and ambassadorial role within the Chance to Shine programme which was formed to address the decline in competitive school cricket.
Read more about this topic: Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent
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