CHRIS_LEWIS_INTERVIEW_ET_18JUL95

Lewis the enigma takes stand to deliver missing answers

Chris Lewis is an enigma, perhaps even to himself. Gifted, with the qualities as an all-rounder England so desperately need, yet he is almost the game's forgotten man, a major talent unfulfilled. Are the problems, which have restricted him to four oneday appearances this season, physical or psychological?

Lewis asked for an interview with the Daily Telegraph to still speculation. He tells Peter Deeley of a family crisis and a wish to leave Notts for a London side

Deeley: Why do you want to 'go public?'

Lewis: People are asking me why I am not playing. They think the reason I am not on the field is problems with Nottinghamshire. They don't appreciate that I am actually injured.

It is a hip complaint, together with a blood circulation problem, so it is taking longer than average to heal. I was told by my specialist to rest for another month. That would take me to the end of July. Then he will tell me exactly what's going on.

Part of the bone has gone a bit soft. Gradually it will get better, but with poor circulation it is being very much prolonged.

The symptoms are in the groin and pain down the leg. It came on in the first Benson and Hedges game of the season against Warwickshire. I suddenly felt the pain down my leg.

The specialist says I will play cricket again, but certainly not within four or five weeks.

Deeley: Over the years you've had more than your share of fitness problems.

Lewis: It started out playing a lot of cricket - moving on from playing one or two times a week, and not being strong enough [physically] to deal with that. Later, I developed more wear and tear than anything else. Over the last few years I've got stronger and physically I'm quite fit.

Deeley: You are seen as having a chronic problem of injury or breakdown. There is always some flaw.

Lewis: That isn't just a Chris Lewis syndrome. You could point your finger at almost any bowler.

Deeley: Have you ever felt you had a psychological problem?

Lewis: It has been suggested, but no. Mentally, I see myself as a very strong character. I've had to be over the years, with some of the things written about me. I've always approached cricket positively, though some may say differently. I genuinely feel at times that some people have made a meal of my ailments. The "migraine" thing has been going round for years. I've often wondered how that started. Headaches, but never a migraine as regards to missing a Test. Against West Indies at Headingley, I reported feeling unwell on the Tuesday. By the day of the Test people were saying Chris took ill this morning. That was totally wrong.

I hope that even if it is for three weeks or a month at the end of this season, I can get on the park again. There are a lot of things riding on it - for Notts and the chance of an England place in the winter.

Deeley: What is your relationship with Notts? Do you want to stay or go?

Lewis: I would like to go. I've said that to the club: I have put in another request in the last month and it is really in their hands. It is a question of the chairman and committee making the decision. My six-year contract runs to 1997.

Deeley: Do you feel, with hindsight, that six years was too long?

Lewis: Definitely. I should really only have signed a two-year contract. It was certainly a mistake.

Deeley: Why do you want to leave Notts?

Lewis: My family, mother and three younger brothers live in London. The three years I've been in Nottingham I've found it very hard to settle there. I haven't really made any friends. They are still in London.

I have always said I haven't got any particular problem with the club itself or the staff. There are clashes with various people but you will find that within any club.

My family in the last couple of years have run into problems. Just recently my mum's home in Dalston was burnt down. She does look to me to help. It would just be more convenient for myself and the family if I was actually close at hand. My dad spends most of his time in America: he's a preacher.

Deeley: How was your mother's home burnt down? Was it an accident?

Lewis: Sort of accidentally done on purpose. I have no idea. The police don't know. It wasn't just a little fire: the whole house was actually gutted. Everything inside was lost. They weren't actually at home at the time but had they been there it could have been a lot worse.

Deeley: Was there a racial motive to it?

Lewis: It's hard to tell. I just couldn't say.

Deeley: Where would you like to go? Lewis: To Middlesex or Surrey - it narrows it down to two. Each club has plusses and minuses. Unless there is some sort of tyrant operating at Lord's or the Oval, then either would suit me fine.

Deeley: You are a man with boundless talent who has never really fulfilled himself. Why?

Lewis: I agree, but if I knew the answer I would be doing it - taking steps to correct the mistakes or whatever. To an extent I feel it is trial and error, trying to define my game.

Generally, my cricket has improved. Certainly the last two months of last year I got something together with bat and ball and played very good cricket - and in Australia, although I had taken the winter off. From that point of view I was looking forward this summer to make a big impression, to fulfil a lot of that potential I know I have.

Deeley: England are desperate for a quality all-rounder. You, potentially, are one of the most gifted in the world yet you have never quite climbed that mountain.

Lewis: Other people seem to pull their hair out about that more than I do. The reason for that is perhaps because I know that Chris Lewis is taking steps to produce the best cricket he can. Eventually I will bear the fruits of the work I am doing.

Deeley: You are intelligent, not a mixer, a slight loner. Are there elements in the game you don't want to throw yourself into 100 per cent, and could this be holding you back as a cricketer?

Lewis: No. I do have certain ways. Normally when I am playing cricket the reason I am not a mixer is because I feel I need the maximum amount of rest. It isn't because I don't like the company of people. After a day on the field I have to rest so I go to my room, I relax.

For me it's common sense. I know how my body works. If I had an energetic evening my cricket the next day would suffer.

Deeley: The vogue word is 'focused'. Are you?

Lewis: When I am on the field there is only one thing I am interested in and that is doing well. Whether it be England or Notts.

Deeley: Do you feel 100 per cent English and totally committed to everything English when playing for England? [Lewis, born in Guyana, came here aged 10]

Lewis: Yes, I am English and proud of it, but I cannot escape the fact I was born in the West Indies. That is also a part of me but when it comes to commitment to your job, sport, career, West Indies doesn't play a part in that. I learnt my cricket in England.

A professional sportsman gets the job done whoever he is playing for, wherever you come from.

Deeley: The very gifted man is very lucky - and the man who doesn't make the most of his gifts. . .

Lewis: I agree totally. A very gifted man is extremely lucky and it is up to him to make the absolute most of what has been God-given. Certainly that is in my mind and I am taking every step to produce the best cricket I can. Obviously that hasn't worked so far but it doesn't mean I have stopped.

Source: The Electronic Telegraph