Chris Silverwood always was the most unassuming of supremos. Back in 2021, a case could have been made for "Kim Jong Sil" (as he never came to be known) being the most powerful head coach that England had ever appointed, when - in addition to overseeing both the men's red- and white-ball squads - he also took over from Ed Smith to become (albeit briefly) the new national selector.
"I probably shouldn't have done that, to be honest!" Silverwood now readily admits. With the ECB back in the market to replace the outgoing selector, Luke Wright, the spotlight has returned to one of the more under-acknowledged pillars of England's cricket establishment. And, to judge by the ever-expanding list of names who have said thanks, but no thanks, the challenges of the selector's role are perhaps now better appreciated, not least given the ECB's stated desire to "re-connect" to the county game this summer.
"It's a well-paid job that takes a lot of time, a lot of dedication so, whoever does it, he's going to have to immerse himself to do it properly," Silverwood tells ESPNcricinfo. "It's true that a lot of the people that see the most county cricket are the ones that are ultimately commentating or broadcasting on it. So it's whether or not it's right for them, only they can decide."
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In fairness to Silverwood, he never exactly sought the extra responsibility either, rather it was thrust upon him due to the extraordinary circumstances of his tenure. When Covid hit in March 2020, and the national team was forced into a series of bio-secure bubbles to "keep the lights on", as then-ECB boss Tom Harrison put it, Smith's broader role effectively became redundant. In the short term, it made operational sense for Silverwood to step into an expanded brief, even if the collateral impact perhaps could have been better anticipated.
"We were living in a different world," Silverwood says. "We still had our scouts, and we still had Titch [James Taylor] on the outside, doing his lead scout role, where he was feeding all the information back to myself and Ash [Giles, former England MD] and the other coaches. They did have a presence out there, but it's tough, really, to compare it."
Nevertheless, if ever there was a moment in which the acknowledged disconnect between England and the county system was established, it can arguably be traced back to that torrid period, when the sport was utterly beholden to the environment in which it was operating. Far from being the lord of all he surveyed, Silverwood's actual powerlessness was epitomised during the Ashes in January 2022, when he was pinged with a positive Covid test on the eve of the Sydney Test, and was forced to miss the entire match while in quarantine in his hotel room.
That experience, too, clearly had a knock-on effect to the present day. "I can understand why the team wouldn't want to revisit that misery," Silverwood says, reflecting on the Ashes winter just gone and the ongoing fall-out, which included this week's slaps on the wrists for Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell following their much-documented antics in Wellington in October.
England's attitude to the tour just gone, and to the Bazball era more generally, has in so many respects been a direct response to the strictures of that 2021-22 Ashes campaign. The laissez-faire approach to practice and preparation, and the desire to get out and enjoy what Australia has to offer, irrespective of the optics, probably wouldn't have been taken to such extremes were it not for the players' bleak memories from four years earlier.
"I'm always very careful about criticising, being the ex-coach," Silverwood says. "I've always been very careful with anything I've said, just out of respect really, and knowing how difficult it is as well, especially an Ashes tour.
"But our tour was hard work. The quarantining made no sense to us, especially having been in a bubble for 40 days already, so I get why people got pushed to extremes with that one.
"But it's like anything really. You've got to realise that you are representing the country and that people are looking, and you've just got to try and behave accordingly really, haven't you, and just not draw too much attention to yourself.
"That's the lesson that comes from it, really, without being ultra-critical. I get why people need to blow out every now and again. I do understand that. I think Darren Lehmann's already talked about how people need space at times, just to let off steam, because Test cricket is hard work, and it's highly pressurised. There does need to be an outlet somewhere, but it's just creating that space where you can do it safely."
Neither Silverwood nor Giles survived the fallout four years ago, and Joe Root too was gone as captain by the start of England's home summer. The ECB's reaction four years later could hardly be more different, with Rob Key, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes all receiving the ECB's blessing to crack on regardless. Silverwood arches a knowing eyebrow when the contrast is put to him, but his diplomacy is unstinting.
"I try not to let it worry me," he says. "I don't think it's worth worrying about. Ashes series are usually a defining moment, rightly or wrongly, so I guess we'll find out, won't we? But I tend not to worry, because the only person it's going to beat up is me, really!
"I don't want people to think I'm bitter about anything, because I'm actually not. I'm still an England fan. I want to see England do well. So if it turns out to be the right thing, great. It just wasn't extended to the rest of us."
In lieu of a change of personnel, England's management have promised a change of attitude. "Hopefully they can drag county cricket and England closer together," Silverwood adds. "If they do that, at least everybody knows they have a fair crack of the whip, and hopefully it gives them a larger pond to fish out of.
"The connection has got to be close, because this is where the next generation are coming from. People performing in county cricket deserve the recognition of at least being looked at, and it can only be a good thing if people are at the grounds watching. The proof will be in the in the doing really, but I can't see how it can hurt."
The season gets underway on Friday with the first of seven County Championship rounds ahead of the opening Test of England's new era, against New Zealand at Lord's in June. Given the conciliatory noises from the ECB, any player from any one of the 18 first-class counties - and most particularly those, like Essex, in the top flight - ought to believe they are one stellar run of form from booking themselves a squad berth. But, realistically, do the players themselves believe it?
"I don't think it's there at the moment," Silverwood says. "But with a bit of effort and actually being visible at the grounds, I think it could be built back.
"I wouldn't say in our dressing-room it was so much of a problem," he adds, with Sam Cook's selection last summer perhaps the one outstanding example of a consistent county performer demanding recognition. "But I certainly heard it from players from other clubs as we were travelling around. If somebody's banging out runs, or taking wickets consistently, I'm not saying they should make the final XI, but they should be looked at, because that gives them a sense of purpose to what they're trying to do."
Silverwood himself won't be lacking for purpose as the 2026 season begins. He's the supremo on a smaller scale these days, but he remains a commanding presence at Essex, with his oversight on all levels of cricket, men's and women's, at their tightknit Chelmsford HQ.
For the women, the only way is up, after a chastening maiden campaign in the new professional Tier 1. His initial role on that front was "a lot of listening and watching", ahead of a rejigging of the coaching set-up that included the recruitment of Stephen Parry as head coach, with the newly retired men's opener Nick Browne slotting in seamlessly in the batting department.
"As much as we can say 'cricket is cricket', it is a different game," he says. "It's about learning that and having respect for that, and finding the best way of manoeuvring that landscape.
"Break Browny open, and he'll say 'Essex' through the middle. I wanted him in there to create a sense of identity, because I don't want this club to be about men and women, I just want it to be Essex through and through."
As for the men, they were slightly flattered by their sixth-place finish in 2025, but at least their shortcomings were much as Silverwood had identified ahead of his return to the club. Zaman Akhter's arrival from Gloucestershire is a significant addition to a bowling unit that struggled in Cook's absences, while Wiaan Mulder's all-round attributes are sure to offer plenty too.
"You ask the players what they want, it's trophies. They just want to win. But for me, obviously, it's slightly broader than that," Silverwood says, before namechecking the likes of Charlie Allison, Noah Thain and Luc Benkenstein, three 21-year-olds who look ready to challenge for regular berths this season.
"I want to see the youngsters coming through and continuing their progression, because if you can get that right, it secures the future of the club."
Funnily enough, it's not a dissimilar sentiment to the one that the ECB have offered in their own season build-up. The proof, as Silverwood says, will be in the doing.