rkt.india Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Quote "There's an expression in the Caribbean," Chris Lewis says. "'The man that can't hear is destined to feel.'" He sighs. "I guess I had to learn things the hard way." Lewis had heard all the warnings, of course. He knew examples of former players who had fallen on hard times. He must, on a level, have understood the need to plan and prepare for life after his playing career. But it ended earlier than he thought it would - it nearly always does - and the benefit season he was relying upon was suddenly snatched away from him. Without savings, plans or many transferable skills, he found himself with a creaking body, a lifestyle to sustain, a family to support, and all revenue streams evaporated. The result? He made a poor choice. As he recounts in his book Crazy: My Road to Redemption, he accepted £50,000 (which he never received) to import cocaine from St Lucia into the UK. "This would give me the breathing space I needed," he writes. "All I could think of was the idea of having no money and not being able to see a way out. I remember my thought at the time: just once, maybe, to make a bit of money and give myself a little bit of breathing space." He was subsequently apprehended at Gatwick airport. He pleaded innocent - "I just couldn't stand the thought of going to jail," he says now - but was found guilty and sentenced to 13 years. He served six and a half. On the first night he considered hanging himself with his bed sheets. Now he is out, but on the brink of his own half-century and with what he refers to as "a skills deficit", his future remains uncertain. At the back of his mind is the thought that, for all his success on a cricket pitch, he may well be remembered, first and foremost, as a convicted drug smuggler. "That's a fact," he says. "I am a shamed cricketer. There's no point me denying it. I'd hate that to be the way I'm remembered, but the fact is, unless I change that perception, it's the way it's going to be. I can't moan about it. It is the consequence of my actions. I have to reflect on my choices and take the responsibility for them. "But it's not the end of the story. I have it in me to write the next few chapters and I have to make sure that I take everything bad and turn it into something good. It's up to me to make sure the story has a better ending." http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/20626839/to-make-sure-story-better-ending Link to comment
renjith Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Surprising to know he was in jail. I enjoyed watching him bowl. His action was very fluent. Link to comment
nevada Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 I hope he doesn't do anything stupid hereafter. He is very, very lucky to be given a second chance despite all that has happened. Link to comment
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