Two months after announcing his international retirement, Evin Lewis has not only reversed the decision but also made himself available for first-class cricket after nine years.
Evin Lewis reverses retirement, makes himself available for red-ball cricket
On January 27, Lewis had announced his retirement from international cricket after being left out of the West Indies’ T20 World Cup squad. Now, he has not only reversed his decision but has also made himself available for Trinidad for the Regional Four Day Competition, the domestic first-class tournament of the West Indies.
If he plays, Lewis will make a comeback to red-ball cricket after nine years. He had played the last of his 22 matches in the format back in 2016/17. In the season before that, 2015/16, he had scored 442 runs at 49.11 including his only first-class hundred – 104 against Jamaica. In all, Lewis has has scored 1,229 runs from 22 games at 30.72.
Lewis has been in excellent form for the Bess Motors Marchin Patriots in the ongoing TTCB Premiership Division I this season, including a run of 119 against Queen’s Park Cricket Club, 232 not out against Merryboys, and 113 against Powergen Penal Cricket Club. He is currently averaging 94 in the local two-day season.
“Evin Lewis ... has made himself available to the national team,” said Trinidad coach Rayad Emrit. “He’s another one that’s just a good sign for us, who has been getting runs. (Cephas) Cooper, one of the mainstays of our batters last year. It’s a good headache to have. It’s no secret that somebody is going to be left out. It’s going to be a tough call for the selectors but it’s a call that we have to make.”
Indeed, Lewis will have to compete with the likes of Jeremy Solozano, Jyd Goolie, Amir Jangoo, Jason Mohammed, and Navin Bidaisee, not to speak of captain-wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva.
