As part of Black History Month, we are celebrating the 21 black cricketers to represent our England Men's and Women's teams.
In Part 1, we ran through the first 10 black players to wear the Three Lions. Now, in Part 2, we look at the next 11...
Joey Benjamin
A strong medium-fast bowler, Joey Benjamin received a surprise call-up, at the age of 33, to make his Test debut in the final Test of the series against South Africa at the Oval in 1994. His impressive first innings figures of 4/42 were somewhat overshadowed by Devon Malcolm’s heroics in the second innings, and the St Kitts-born man did not feature in another Test. He played in two ODIs against Australia the following winter but had no more chances to try and recreate the form he had shown for Surrey. Benjamin ended his career with 387 first class wickets to his name and subsequently turned his hand to coaching in Surrey. Benjamin sadly died in 2021, having suffered a heart attack.
Mark Alleyne
Born in north London, brought up in Barbados and then returning to London as a teenager, Mark Alleyne was a prodigious talent as a middle-order batsman and medium-pace bowler. He scored his first century for Gloucestershire aged 18 and in 2000 was named one of Widen’s Cricketers of the Year. Renowned for his tactical acumen in the white-ball form of the game as Gloucestershire captain, Alleyne won five one-day titles with the county and made 10 ODI appearances for England. He is the only black head coach in county cricket this century having coached Gloucestershire following his retirement from playing in 2005. He subsequently became head coach at the MCC and is now assistant director of sport at Marlborough College.
Mark Butcher
Born in Croydon to a Jamaican mother and English father, Mark Butcher spent much of his upbringing relentlessly hit balls under the guidance of his father, Alan, a former Surrey and England cricketer and coach. Butcher would go on to emulate and better his father’s on-field achievements, playing 71 Tests for the Three Lions and enjoying a 17-year county career with Surrey. Butcher’s shining moment in an England cap came in the 2001 Ashes at Headingley, when he struck a sensational 173 not out as the hosts chased down 315 to win. A series of injuries cut short Butcher’s Three Lions career as he lost his place in the side, returning to Surrey where a knee problem forced his retirement in 2009. Butcher is now regularly seen as a commentator on television and radio with Sky Sports and TalkSPORT and is a guitar player and singer. He released his first able in 2010, which included the ballad “You’re Never Gone”, which he wrote and sang at the memorial of his friend and team-mate Ben Hollioake, who tragically died in 2002.
Dean Headley
Dean Headley was born into cricketing history, the first Test cricket to be both the son and grandson of Test cricketers; his father Ron and grandfather George both having played for West Indies. A talented rugby player and quick bowler, Headley grew up in the Midlands and played his county cricket with Middlesex and Kent. The highlight of his England career – he played 15 Tests and 13 ODIs – came with a man-of-the-match performance as he took six second innings wickets in the 4th Ashes Test in 1998 in Melbourne. In 1996, he took a record three hat-tricks in the same county season for Kent. A series of back injuries forced his early retirement from cricket in 2001.
Alex Tudor
A talented player with bat and ball, many still wonder what could have been had Alex Tudor’s career not been hampered by injury troubles. Probably best remembered for scoring 99 not out against New Zealand, the highest ever Test score by an English nightwatchman, but a subsequent knee injury forced a long period away from the international set-up. Standing at 6’5, Tudor caught the eye on his England debut in the 1998/99 Ashes in Perth and drew praise from Australia captain Mark Taylor. But the South Londoner would only go on to play a total of 10 Tests and three ODIs for England. His county career consisted of two spells with Surrey either side of three seasons with Essex. Tudor now runs his own cricket coaching company and is an emerging voice in the television commentary box.
Ebony Rainford-Brent
Born in South London, Ebony Rainford-Brent grew up playing a number of sports. Her proficiency across a number of different areas was quickly evident. Although talented at football and athletics, cricket became her No.1 sport. A Surrey CCC player from the age of Under 11 up, she would go on to become captain of her county. In 2001, aged just 17, she became the first black woman to play cricket for England. A serious back injury halted her progress but with typical determination it was to be just another hurdle to overcome, Rainford-Brent returned to the England fold after a two-year absence and went on to win the ICC Women’s World Cup and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2009. She’s since become a trail-blazer in the commentary box and the boardroom; a BBC and Sky Sports commentator as well as Surrey’s Director of Women’s Cricket, where she founded the ACE programme to try to increase the number of black youngsters playing cricket and supporting them into the elite talent pathway.
Michael Carberry
Michael Carberry, from Croydon of Guyanese and Bajan descent, played in six Tests for England including all five fixtures in the 2013/14 Ashes. A stylish left-handed batsman, he averaged 41.02 with the bat in first class cricket in a county career that started at Surrey and Kent before he spent a decade at Hampshire. A blood clot on the lung in 2010 threatened his international career and meant that he was unable to travel on international flights. In 2016, he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour but continued to play cricket, spending two seasons with Leicestershire to finish his career. Carberry is now Director of Cricket at the London Schools' Cricket Association.
Chris Jordan
Rapid bowler, calm head and one of the finest fielders on the planet; Chris Jordan has established himself as one of the best bowlers in T20 cricket. Born in Barbados, where he went to the same school as Rihanna, Jordan moved to England on a sporting scholarship as a teenager and started his career at Surrey before moving to Sussex. He played for Barbados at youth level before opting for pursue an international career with England, for whom he has become a regular, especially in IT20 cricket, but also representing the Three Lions in eight Tests and 34 ODIs. His death bowling, incredible fielding and useful lower order batting have resulted in a number of franchise roles in the likes of the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League and Caribbean Premier League.
Tymal Mills
He only started playing cricket at the age of 14, but by the time he was 19 Tymal Mills had forced his way into the Essex first team and quit his university course in the county. Easily capable of bowling rockets in excess of 90mph, Mills’ sheer pace caught the eye from an early age. A congenital back condition has hampered his playing time and forced him to focus on white-ball cricket. He debuted in IT20 cricket for England in 2016 and a series of impressive performances against India in January 2017 convinced Royal Challengers Bangalore to make him one of the highest paid players in the 2017 Indian Premier League. Excellent performance in the Vitality Blast and the inaugural season of The Hundred saw Mills win a recall to the England squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2021, however injury curtailed his 2022 campaign.
Sophia Dunkley
The highlights of Sophia Dunkley’s England career are most likely still to come, but even in her short time in and around the international side she’s already demonstrated the aptitude and talent that led many to tip her for future honours as a youngster. Her first time batting for England saw her come to the crease at 48/5 against the West Indies in a ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match – a record-breaking seventh-wicket stand later and her team had something to bowl at. Like Ebony Rainford-Brent, Dunkley is also a South Londoner, but her early strides in cricket came via Mill Hill School, Finchley CC and Middlesex. She’s now a professional with South East Stars, and excellent form in the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020 saw her reclaim her England spot. In 2021, Dunkley became the first black female to play Test cricket for England and scored an unbeaten 74 in the match against India Women at Bristol.
Jofra Archer
Born in Barbados to an English father and Bajan mother, speculation about Jofra Archer’s inclusion in the England squad was rife ahead of his first call-up when he became eligible for selection ahead of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. The 90mph bowler had already expressed his intention to play for England upon his qualification and delivered in international colours on the ability he had shown in franchise cricket around the world. Archer, who was brought to England by his great friend Chris Jordan, made his England debut in May 2019 and two months later would bowl the Super Over that won the Three Lions the World Cup in the most dramatic circumstances at Lord’s. He made his Test debut in the Ashes later that summer and took three five-wicket hauls in his first seven Tests. He plays his county cricket for Sussex and is a regular in the IPL and BBL, however injuries have kept him off the field for much of the 2021 and 2022 seasons.