Chris Silverwood Appointed Essex Director of Cricket for 2025 Season

Former England head coach Chris Silverwood is set to return to Essex as director of cricket, commencing with the 2025 county season. The 49-year-old previously led the first team at Chelmsford from 2016 to 2018, securing a County Championship victory in 2017, during his second of three seasons with the club. Silverwood’s tenure with England began in October 2019, concluding in February 2022 after the team’s 4-0 Ashes series loss in Australia. He subsequently assumed the position of Sri Lanka’s head coach two months later. In June, Silverwood stepped down from that role and will now succeed Anthony McGrath at Essex. McGrath departed Essex last month after nine seasons to take on the head coach role at Yorkshire. Silverwood stated, “It’s a club that holds very special memories for me, with the success we enjoyed in 2016 and 2017, and it’s been great to see the success Anthony McGrath has had in the years in between.” He added, “There is work to be done around the squad, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead, with an emphasis on working hard to help develop our homegrown players.” He further expressed, “I’m excited to get straight to work to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible and that the squad is in the best possible shape to compete on all fronts next summer.” Several players from the 2017 title-winning squad, which was promoted in 2016 under Silverwood’s leadership, are still with Essex. These include Captain Tom Westley, spinner Simon Harmer, pace bowlers Jamie Porter and Sam Cook, batsman Nick Browne, and all-rounder Paul Walter. Silverwood’s initial match at the helm next summer is scheduled for 4 April, a home Championship fixture against Surrey, who have claimed the title for the past three consecutive years. Jason Gallian, the Cricket Committee chair, commented, “We were clear throughout that we were focused on making the right decision, not just a quick one, and following this process, we firmly believe we have stuck to that and appointed the best candidate.” Gallian added, “Having spoken to Chris, I know how motivated he is to make his mark in the coming years, and his desire is as high as ever to take on the role of director of cricket and lead on the strategic side.” Essex achieved a Championship/T20 Blast double in 2019, followed by a Bob Willis Trophy win the subsequent year. However, the club has not secured any further titles since then. This summer, they concluded the Championship in fourth place and did not advance to the knockout stages of either the 20-over or 50-over white-ball tournaments. As a former pace bowler, Silverwood’s playing career saw him take 577 first-class wickets, with stints at his home county Yorkshire and Middlesex. He participated in six Test matches between 1996 and 2002, alongside seven one-day internationals. His initial involvement with Essex was as a bowling coach in 2010, before his promotion to head coach in December 2015, taking over from Paul Grayson. General manager Dan Feist informed BBC Essex, stating, “People quite rightly focus on the success around 2016-2017 but they forget that Chris was here for a number of years before doing a lot of work in the second eleven.” Feist continued, “He identified Jamie Porter and worked with him on his skills and Sam Cook, when he was coming up through the pathway, so he knows what that looks like. He’s got two of his own boys in the pathway at the moment so he’s really bought into that opportunity.” Feist further elaborated, “He’s really keen to get his teeth not only into coaching the side and making sure the first team stay competitive but also looking at that longer-term picture that ties into the way the game is changing and adapting to that, helping us stay competitive over the next five, 10, 15 years with players coming through, both for the men’s team and the women’s team, we’ve always had that success of producing players right through the programme.” Essex has secured the County Championship title on eight occasions, with one of these victories occurring in 2017 under Chris Silverwood’s leadership.