Ed Rainsford is a tall right-arm seam bowler who won early selection for the Zimbabwe national squad against Sri Lanka in 2004 when the 'rebel' players withdrew. He played five ODIs during that dispute, but never really made an impression. Zimbabwe's continuing player drain led to his recall to national colours in 2006. He has developed an excellent yorker, which works best with left-handers as his stock delivery swings the ball into them. Rainsford grew up in the Midlands town of Kadoma, and despite attending a minor cricket-playing junior school showed little interest in the game until he was 11, when his father, who had played at school himself, coached him and fired his enthusiasm. One of his older brothers played for Midlands in the early nineties before the Logan Cup acquired first-class status. After five years in the first team at Jameson High in Kadoma, he was so 'hungry' for cricket that he would catch a lift three times a week to Kwekwe, 45 miles away, to practise with the National League club team there. This led to selection for Midlands in the Logan Cup, as well as the Under-19 World Cup team and the CFX Academy in 2004. More recently he has been troubled by a bad stress fracture in the back. He performed commendably on the West Indies tour, but still tended to be inconsistent and left early to fulfil a club contract in England. He was less impressive in outings against Bangladesh and an Australian Academy side later in the year.
Steven Price September 2006

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Feb 10, 2007 Ed Rainsford celebrates Vusi Sibanda's sharp catch to remove Tamim Iqbal © AFP

Oct 2, 2006 Ed Rainsford © Getty Images

Dec 5, 2004 Edward Rainsford celebrates Matt Prior's wicket © Getty Images

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