Former England fast bowler Chris Lewis recounts the dark days in jail

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canada canada goose uk outlet goose outlet sale In the winter of 2008, Lewis was arrested at Gatwick airport for smuggling cocaine worth 140,000 GBP on a flight Canada Goose online from St. Lucia. He was handed 13 years in prison, but was released after serving half that sentence. “In jail, you can spend all day thinking about how you’ve mucked up,” says Lewis. canada goose outlet canadian goose jacket sale

canada goose outlet nyc “So I read a lot. I also did courses in psychology, cookery, plumbing, brick laying, plastering. you do things to keep you busy, so that you’re not dwelling on your situation.” canada goose outlet nyc

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canada goose outlet uk sale Last year, Lewis’ autobiography, Crazy, was published. His story is soon going to be told on stage in The Long Walk Back, a play written by James Graham Brown, a former canada goose store Kent and Derbyshire cricketer. Life after prison, he admits, canada goose outlet has not been easy. canada goose outlet uk sale

canada goose outlet “You can say life has, at times, been a struggle. But if you make a mistake, life doesn’t go back to how it was straight away. There’s a period of struggle, a period of getting it right, a period of clearing up the cheap canada goose uk mess that you made yourself. I don’t necessarily look at it as a struggle. canada goose outlet

canada goose outlet shop “It’s a canada goose clearance sale part of a process. I Canada Goose Online made mistakes, and as a consequence of that things aren’t necessarily going to work well, whether that is your relationship with your family, your friends. all those things take time to repair.” canada goose outlet shop

canada goose outlet in usa Lewis was a talented all rounder, who, in the eyes of many, should have played more than the 32 Tests and 53 ODIs he managed, the buy canada goose jacket cheap last of those in 1998. Jail was a dizzying fall from grace but Lewis has accepted everything life has thrown at him with a remarkable stoicism. canada goose outlet in usa

canada goose factory outlet He freely admits he has erred; there is no whingeing, no bitterness. “I don’t necessarily feel a sense of regret,” he says. canada goose factory outlet

canada goose jacket outlet “For uk canada goose outlet me, this has been my journey. And along the journey there are things that have happened that I would class as mistakes. However, it’s been my journey and it’s that journey that’s gotten me to the place I am in now, which is being happy with the person I am. I’d be fearful of changing anything, in case I didn’t get the learning experience that I got.” canada goose jacket outlet

canada goose outlet online There is a sense that English cricket, perhaps, did not fully understand Lewis. There were murmurs about a flashy lifestyle and criticism when he failed to live up to the hype of being ‘the next Ian Botham’, although he had never asked to be labelled so. canada goose canada goose coats on sale outlet online

canada goose outlet jackets “Sometimes when you look at certain sportsmen and they don’t fulfil the ambitions or the dreams that other people think they had, you can ask, ‘What went wrong?’ canada goose outlet jackets

canada goose outlet reviews “Nothing went wrong. I represented my country 80 odd times. Not everybody is going to represent their country 200 times. Some people Canada Goose Jackets play cricket for 24 hours a day and think about cricket 24 hours a day. Some people will play cricket for 12 hours a day and then want to go out. I was more that sort of person. And I’m glad I did that. Rather than being somebody http://www.canadagoosecanadaoutlet.com else.” canada goose outlet reviews

canada goose outlet store After he named three England players alleged to have been part of a match fixing scandal in 1999, Lewis felt he was being driven out of the county game. But he now bears no one any canada goose factory sale ill will. canada goose outlet store

canada Canada Goose Coats On Sale goose outlet store uk “You’ve got to understand I was an immigrant. I came here from Guyana as a 10 year old boy. And I lived my dream, which was to play international cricket. canada goose black friday sale I can say, ‘This person could’ve treated me better. that person could’ve treated me better.’ But ultimately they picked me 80 odd times to play for England. So there’s only so much you can moan about.” canada goose outlet store uk

canada goose outlet new york city His family, though, has had to put up with a lot. “I put the people I cared about most in harm’s way,” he says. “So I would say, ‘Shame on me for doing that.’ That’s my learning curve. canada goose outlet new york city

canada goose outlet toronto factory “But my family is wonderful now. I’m appreciating the canada goose uk shop little things even more than I did before. My experience has been enhanced. Not by jail but by being able canada goose clearance to look at things and appreciate what I already had.” canada goose outlet toronto factory.