Lucky Lewis eager to play

cricket The Ashes wheel of fortune has turned back in Chris Lewis's favour. Four years ago, Lewis was the bright new hope of English cricket Down Under, until a serious back injury cut short his first tour of Australia. Now, another man's misfortune has given him a glimmer of hope in what looked like being a wasted winter.

Lewis was in the right place (Melbourne) at the right time (Tuesday night) when Darren Gough's exciting journey around Australia came to a painful halt. Less than 24 hours later, Gough began his sad and lonely journey home - his dreams temporarily shattered by a stress fracture of the left foot.

And, after expecting to begin a two-month stint with a Melbourne club side, Lewis found himself back on England tour duty. The length of his stay as Gough's replacement is uncertain. But, given a chance, the 26-year-old is determined to make the most of this unexpected opportunity.

"Even if I'm only here on a temporary basis it's a great tonic for me," he said. "I'm dreadfully sorry about what's happened to Darren. I know just how he is feeling right now. But it's up to me to make the most of this chance."

Lewis was pressed into service as a substitute fielder during Tuesday night's World Series Cup victory over Australia after Neil Fairbrother had joined Gough on the casualty list. Lewis, having had a reasonably successful tour of the West Indies a year ago, played in the first of last summer's Texaco Trophy internationals and impressed the new chairman of selectors, Raymond Illingworth, with his three-wicket performance against New Zealand.

He seemed likely to appear in the first Test but then ran into more injury problems, saw Phillip DeFreitas take his position and never got back into the frame.

"If I hadn't been injured during the early part of last season I think I would probably have held my place," Lewis said. "Instead, other people came in and did well. That set me back, but by the end of the season I was playing some of the best cricket ofmy career and I was disappointed to be left out of the squad for this tour. But that's life and you have to come back from such things."

Lewis remains one of the great unfulfilled talents of English cricket. On occasions he has looked the best all-rounder since Ian Botham, but for every good performance there have been two or three lacklustre ones.

Now, with England undecided about how to replace Gough and uncertain whether Fairbrother will recover quickly from a shoulder injury, he could find himself a candidate for the final two Tests.

The selectors will make a decision on Lewis's immediate future at the end of the World Series campaign.

n The West Indies arrived in Auckland yesterday minus Carl Hooper for the start of their tour of New Zealand. The team manager, David Holford, said the Kent all-rounder is recovering from a mystery illness picked up in India, where the West Indies drew their three-Test series, and would join the party in a few days.

"We discovered it only when we got to England. He is having blood tests and the last time we spoke with him he was very positive," Holford said.

In the continued absence of Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh will lead the 14-man squad in the two Test matches and three one-day internationals, and Curtly Ambrose returns following a shoulder injury which kept him out of the India tour.

New Zealand, who recently lost 2-1 in South Africa, were the last to beat the West Indies in a Test series, in 1979-80, and the West Indies have not won a series there since 1955. The tour opener, a one-day game against a Festival XI, is in Hamilton on Sunday