Ebony Rainford-Brent: Former England cricketer shares image of racist hate letter | UK News

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Former England cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent shared a photo of a racist hate letter she received, in which she was told to “leave our country”.

Rainford-Brent, who became the first black woman to play for England in 2001, posted the image of the sickening correspondence on Twitter.

She captioned her post: “Interesting … Born in South London but apparently I was found naked in Africa as a primitive. I had a few letters in my day but this one up there!”

Comments on the handwritten letter included a reference to “white cricket culture” and asked Rainford-Brent to “leave our country”.

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5:07 Key moments from Azeem Rafiq’s racism hearing

It comes just a day after Azeem Rafiq testified before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee about his numerous allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

Rafiq told MPs he felt “isolated, sometimes humiliated” because of the bombardment of racism he suffered and the “constant use of the word p *** ‘” during his time at the club.

Rainford-Brent played 29 times for England between 2001 and 2010 and quickly jumped into broadcasting, appearing regularly on Sky Sports and Test Match Special.

She teamed up with Sky Sports colleague Michael Holding in the summer of 2020 to be featured in a video discussing the Black Lives Matter movement, a campaign that saw the couple receive freedom from the City of London.

In the short, the 37-year-old explained how regular comments about her ethnicity have made her question her future in the game.

Alongside her career in broadcasting and her role as Director of the Surrey Women’s Team, she set up the ACE program – a charity aimed at increasing cricket opportunities for members of the Afro-Caribbean community.

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