Rachel Lewis is the first female chair in Essex Cricket’s 150-year history. She is also the club’s fifth chair in five years, appointed on July 28, 2026 after a governance breakdown that saw four predecessors leave under extraordinary circumstances. Essex’s decision to appoint an Olympic volleyball player with no professional cricket background is not just a milestone. It is the clearest signal yet that the club has exhausted its insider options.
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The boardroom chaos at Chelmsford began in November 2021 when John Faragher resigned as chairman following allegations he used racist language at a 2017 board meeting. Faragher denied the allegation, but Essex were later fined £50,000 by the ECB after pleading guilty to charges related to the comment and their failure to investigate it. The club was subsequently fined a further £100,000 after admitting systemic and longstanding racism and discrimination, with former players coming forward with their own allegations of abuse.
Azeem Akhtar was appointed as Faragher’s permanent successor in November 2022, becoming the club’s first minority-ethnic chair. He lasted three days. The Jewish Chronicle revealed he had liked social media posts including one claiming a “Zionist lobby” had oversized control of the media. An independent review found no evidence of antisemitism, but Akhtar resigned regardless in February 2023.
After Sir Stephen O’Brien held the position on an interim basis, Anu Mohindru KC took over permanently in October 2023. His tenure ended in September 2025 when the Barristers’ Tribunal Service disbarred him for lying about studying medicine at Oxford University. The tribunal called it a “reckless, foolish and completely unnecessary lie.”
Mohindru also falsely claimed to have played in the university cricket varsity match and for MCC. He resigned from Essex immediately. Jason Gallian then stepped in as interim chair for the next 10 months until Lewis’s appointment.
Lewis is a former Team GB volleyball player who competed at the 2012 London Olympics. She has spent the last three years as Chair of Essex Cricket in the Community, leading engagement and inclusivity initiatives across the county. In a BBC Essex interview after her appointment, Lewis said she has been given an “opportunity to remodel and revitalise the club.”
“It is an immense honour to be appointed Chair of Essex County Cricket Club, particularly in this, our 150th year. This Club has a proud heritage, and I am excited to build on that foundation as we embark on a critical new chapter. With the redevelopment of our ground and both our teams competing at the highest level, we have a tremendous opportunity to drive Essex Cricket forward.”
Rachel Lewis, Essex Cricket official announcement, July 28, 2026
Jamas Hodivala KC has been appointed as Deputy Chair to add legal and governance expertise to the board. Gallian and his deputy Vicky Ford will remain as board members.
What Essex’s First Female Chair Inherits Beyond the Boardroom
Lewis’s appointment does not exist in isolation. The ECB’s State of Equity in Cricket report, published in November 2025, found that there had been “no progress in gender diversity in Chair and CEO roles” at first-class counties. At the time of that report, Dame Sarah Storey at Lancashire was the only female chair across all 18 counties. Storey was formally elected as permanent Chair at Lancashire’s AGM in May 2026.
Rachel Lewis at Essex now makes it two out of 18. In a sport where the ECB’s own governance framework committed to 40% gender representation on every county board by May 2026, only two women lead the boardrooms of English cricket’s top-tier clubs.
“During a year of celebration, it is exciting to announce the first female Chair in the Club’s history. It is a hugely positive announcement, and I look forward to supporting the Board and Rachel in our future success.”
John Lever MBE, Essex Cricket Club President, July 28, 2026
Essex are also planning a major ground redevelopment at Chelmsford, aiming to increase capacity from approximately 6,500 to 10,000 by 2030. Both the men’s and women’s teams are competing in the top tier of domestic cricket.
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The fact that Lewis comes from volleyball, not cricket, is the point. In any elite sport, the chair’s job is to build the conditions where performance happens. You do not need to have batted at Chelmsford to understand that a dressing room needs stability from the boardroom above it. What Lewis brings from Olympic sport is the experience of operating in environments where selection, funding pressure, and organizational culture determine outcomes long before anyone steps on the field.
County cricket clubs have historically been run by former players or local figures with deep cricket connections. That model works when the institution is stable. When a club has cycled through five chairs in five years, you need someone whose primary skill is institutional repair, not cricket knowledge.
Her Olympic career means she understands what high-performance sport demands from the people governing it. Three years running the community programme means she already knows the county’s stakeholders. The first female chair of Essex Cricket is not a symbolic appointment. It is a structural one.
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