The Hundred 2025: Davina Perrin can 'dominate women's cricket' after stunning century

Perrin has come through the ACE programme, founded by former England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent in 2020 in response to the sharp decline of black British players in the professional game.

Five years on, Perrin has become the first black British woman to score a century in a T20 - The Hundred is classed as such for statistical purposes - at professional level.

"She was 13 when I first met her," Rainford-Brent told BBC Sport. "As soon as lockdown was cleared, we went for a net.

"I got the bowling machine out and I told her to hit through the off side, then hit over the top of cover, then down the ground.

"She hit it with power and precision straight away, just nailed it. She had a full 360 game at 13 and I knew she was special."

The ability to play all around the wicket was evident at The Oval as she got herself going by smoking a drive through the covers before effortlessly flicking the ball over square leg for six a few balls later.

There is a flamboyance to Perrin's game - "a good swagger" says Rainford-Brent - and with West Indies legends Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara as inspirations, perhaps that should be no surprise.

"I love Sir Viv's flair. I love Brian Lara's ability to score runs and score big, plus he had that hunger to go and do so. That's all I'm thinking about really," Perrin told Sky Sports.

"My dad always had their YouTube videos up so I've been watching them since I was six or seven years old - I always try to channel them."

The hope for Perrin is she can offer something similar to the next generation.

"It's in moments like these that I'm extra proud, I'm able to take pride in what I've done because we're a minority," she told BBC Sport.

"There's not that many black girls playing in the professional game and I'm hoping now I've set a bit of a platform so more young black girls - and boys, of course - can see they can do it too."

Rainford-Brent added: "She is immensely proud of her heritage, her community. She is 18 and already so invested in being a role model, which says so much about her character."

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