Chris Silverwood: Essex director of cricket looks to the future

The growth of such leagues provides opportunities but also challenges for county cricket.

Silverwood said: “Everything moves on and one of the first things I need to do is make sure I’ve got to grips with everything that’s around the circuits, how things work.

“The way players see the landscape of cricket now is certainly one of the things that has changed. There are so many opportunities and other places to play cricket at the moment, all around the world, that players are looking at now because it’s very lucrative to some of them.

“It turns their head and they want to play in these big competitions, so there’s an element of ‘how does county cricket co-exist with these competitions?’ and how do we get the best out of our players when we do have them at home.”

“Ultimately we want to produce England cricketers so how do we help youngsters coming through to be ready for international cricket?”

Essex will also have one of eight Tier One clubs in the new women’s professional structure this year, giving Silverwood another important task, and one which he says he is relishing.

“The women’s side of the game is exciting and growing so quickly at the moment,” he added.

“I’ve seen the excitement around Chelmsford. I’ve been to the sessions being run there at the moment and there’s so much energy and enthusiasm around the women’s game, and so much interest from investors as well.”