On the field, the club’s men’s team sit sixth in the County Championship First Division, winning four of their first eight red-ball games of the season.

The white-ball team reached the quarter-finals of the T20 Blast, where they were eliminated by eventual finalists Hampshire Hawks.

Essex have now turned their attention to the One-Day Cup before the County Championship season resumes next month.

But it is the progress of the women’s team, which finished fifth in the nine-team T20 Blast table this year, and the disability team that Lewis highlighted as she fondly recalled her tenure as ECIC president.

She said: “For me, securing the top-tier women’s team was something we were incredibly proud of as a club.

“I’m a mother of two girls and we go to a local cricket club. Their opportunity may not have been possible if they didn’t have role models outside of this field.

“I’m also very happy to see the disabled side going from strength to strength. The veteran team is doing well. The number of schools also playing is on a wonderful curve.”

Lewis is the fifth Essex chair in as many years and becomes the third county chair, alongside Dame Sarah Storey in Lancashire and Tracey Orr, who oversees the Warwickshire sides.

“Media attention was coming back to what the board was doing,” Lewis said.

“We should be the ones providing the stability. That’s what I would like to be able to provide: that consistency. But I need to be there for several years to achieve that. I don’t want to see that constant turnover.”

“It is important that this is not a gender appointment. However, at the same time, it would be remiss of me as a woman to say that this is not an incredible opportunity.”

You can listen to the full interview with Rachel Lewis on Around the Wicket from 18:00 BST on BBC Essex.