Rainford-Brent collects MBE | ‘Women’s sport at highest ever point’

Rainford-Brent collects MBE | ‘Women’s sport at highest ever point’

Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent, who is now part of the Sky Sports Cricket broadcasting team, was joined by England Women’s Six Nations rugby star Emily Scarratt when receiving their honours from the Prince of Wales on Tuesday

Last Updated: 03/05/22 9:23pm

Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent was made an MBE by the Prince of Wales

Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent was made an MBE by the Prince of Wales

Women’s sport in the UK is “at the highest point it has ever been”, according to former cricketer Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent as she collected her MBE at Windsor Castle.

Rainford-Brent, who is now part of the Sky Sports Cricket broadcasting team, was joined by England Women’s Six Nations rugby star Emily Scarratt when receiving their honours from the Prince of Wales on Tuesday.

Speaking after the ceremony, Rainford-Brent said women’s cricket had come a long way since she started in the sport 28 years ago.

She said: “Women’s sport is at the highest point it has ever been and I think actually I feel special seeing both sides of the coin.”

Rainford-Brent was the first black woman to play for the England team after captaining the Surrey women’s team.

She has since been a pundit for Test Match Special, and was one of the first female summarisers to commentate on men’s international cricket matches. She became part of Sky Sports’ cricket commentary team in 2020.

Rainford-Brent was the first black woman to play for the England team

Rainford-Brent was the first black woman to play for the England team

On the future of women’s cricket, Rainford-Brent said: “I think awareness and visibility is starting to happen. Next is investment.

“I think if you look from a women’s sport perspective, we need more money going in to increase the standard which then gets more broadcasting and then it kind of creates this cycle.

“I want to see the gender pay gap closed. At the moment, there’s still a huge gap

…. to be continued
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