Clairmonte Christopher Lewis (born 14 February 1968)
is an English former
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er, who played for
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
and
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
in the 1990s. He played in 32
Test matches and 53
One Day International
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
s (ODIs) for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
between 1990 and 1998.
Lewis was regarded as an aggressive lower-order
batsman
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...
, fine fast-medium
bowler and an able all-round
fielder. He was regarded as a colourful player of the game, who never quite lived up to his early potential.
He was later convicted of drug smuggling.
International career
Lewis was drafted into the
England squad to tour the West Indies in 1990 when
Ricardo Ellcock
Ricardo ("Ricky") McDonald Ellcock (born 17 June 1965) is a Barbados-born former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. His career was seriously hampered by injury,
and despite ...
pulled out through injury, making his
one-day international
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...
debut during the tour. He made his
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
debut the following summer against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
He pulled out of England's disappointing
tour of Australia the following winter after only one Test, but made an instant impact on his return to the Test team against the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
at
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
in 1991, taking 6 for 111 (which remained his best Test bowling figures) and scoring 65 (his first Test half-century) batting at no.10. That winter he helped England to a series victory in New Zealand, scoring 70 in the first Test, and taking 5 for 31 in the second. He then helped England to the final of
1992 Cricket World Cup
The 1992 Cricket World Cup (officially the Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992) was the fifth staging of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in Australia and New Zealand from 22 February to 25 Mar ...
, highlights coming when he won the
man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
awards in wins against the West Indies (where his wickets included
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing reco ...
), and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, where he took his best
one-day international
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...
bowling, 4 for 30. Only player of the tournament
Martin Crowe
Martin David Crowe (22 September 1962 – 3 March 2016) was a New Zealand cricketer, Test and ODI captain as well as a commentator. He played for the New Zealand national cricket team between 1982 and 1995, and is regarded as one of the count ...
won more
man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
awards in the tournament. However, England lost the final, Lewis being dismissed first-ball by
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram HI (; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, coach, and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, and several criti ...
.
His first Test century, in
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
on the occasion of his 25th birthday, on
England's 1993 tour of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, gave hope for a bright international future.
However England lost all their four Tests that winter, Lewis was dropped after the
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
test against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 1993, and this remained his only Test century.
Lewis was labelled "The Prat without a Hat" by ''
The Sun'', after he was forced to pull out of the first match of
England's tour of the West Indies in 1994 with sunstroke after enlisting
Devon Malcolm
Devon Eugene Malcolm (born 22 February 1963) is a former English cricketer. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Malcolm played in 40 Test matches and 30 One Day Internationals for the England cricket team.
At his best, he was the unquestionably the f ...
's help to shave his head and then not wearing any protection. According to Martin Williamson, this ''Sun'' headline "came to haunt Lewis for the remainder of his career".
Nonetheless, uniquely among England's bowlers on the tour he did appear in all five matches in the Test series against the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
, taking seven wickets to bowl England to the brink of a winning position in the third Test at
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
before England's batsmen collapsed to a devastating spell from
Curtly Ambrose
Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose KCN (born 21 September 1963) is an Antiguan former cricketer who played 98 Test matches for the West Indies. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, he took 405 Test wickets at ...
. To Lewis fell the dubious honour of bowling when Lara broke
Garfield Sobers
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, ...
' record for the highest individual Test score in the final Test of the series at
Antigua
Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
,
although Lewis also made an unbeaten 75 as England drew the match. However, he was then dropped from the Test team, though continuing to appear in some one-day internationals and featuring in the England side which won the
Hong Kong Sixes
The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is a Six-a-side international cricket tournament held at the Kowloon Cricket Club comprising between eight and twelve teams. Organised by Cricket Hong Kong, it is sanctioned by the International Cricket Council. The ...
in 1994. He was recalled to the Test side as an injury replacement the following winter during the
1994-95 Ashes, taking 4 for 24 as England won an unexpected victory in the fourth Test at
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, but after the next Test was dropped again.
He was recalled for the
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
test in 1996, taking his third Test
five-wicket haul
In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman.
Takin ...
as England beat India, but was dropped again at the end of the summer, and thereafter only played two more one-day internationals. His international career ended in 1998.
Domestic career
Lewis had a nomadic county career, starting with
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
before moving to
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
. In 1996 he moved to
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, and in 1998 returned to Leicestershire. Highlights included winning the
1997 Benson & Hedges Cup with Surrey, and winning the
1998 County Championship with Leicestershire. During the latter campaign, he captained Leicestershire in a number of their matches.
Lewis always felt he was driven out of
county cricket
Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...
after alleging that three England teammates had taken bribes to throw matches (a charge that was never substantiated). He was subsequently jeered by crowds and cold-shouldered by players, including his county teammates. It coincided with a decline in his form, and he left professional cricket, aged just 32.
In 2006, he captained
Clifton Cricket Club
Clifton Cricket Club is an English cricket club based on Manchester Road (A666) in Clifton, Salford.
The club were founder members of the Greater Manchester Cricket League (GMCL) in 2016 and play in that league's Premier division, finishing 3 ...
, in the
Central Lancashire Cricket League
The Central Lancashire Cricket League (CLCL) was a fifteen team cricket league, traditionally based in Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was then based in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. The league ran competitions at First T ...
, where he opened the batting and the bowling. In his spare time, he also coached children in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
.
He played four games for Stockton in the Newcastle District Cricket Association in 2007/08.
In 2008, Lewis re-signed for
Twenty20
Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...
matches for Surrey, in light of his bowling experience. However, his comeback was short and unsuccessful. He played one
Friends Provident Trophy
The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom.
It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scotland and Ireland. Lan ...
game, in which he conceded 51 runs in six overs, and one Twenty20 match. He took no wickets in either.
Lewis captained his boyhood Wembley Cricket Club in the Middlesex County Cricket League in 2016.
Cocaine smuggling
On 8 December 2008, Lewis was arrested at
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
on suspicion of smuggling 3.37 kilograms of liquid
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, with a street value of about £140,000, into the United Kingdom on a flight from
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
. After a trial at Croydon Crown Court, on 20 May 2009 Lewis and basketball player Chad Kirnon were found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He was released in June 2015 after serving 6 years of his sentence at
HMP High Down.
References
External links
Cricinfo The one that got away
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Chris
1968 births
Living people
England Test cricketers
English cricketers of 1969 to 2000
England One Day International cricketers
Leicestershire cricketers
Nottinghamshire cricketers
Surrey cricketers
British drug traffickers
Guyanese emigrants to England
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Black British sportsmen
British prisoners and detainees
Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup