He was brought up in
Swindon where he was educated at
Churchfields School and
Swindon College. He played for Swindon CC and, in
Minor Counties cricket, for
Wiltshire County Cricket Club in 1993. He joined
Northamptonshire in 1994 and played for its Second XI but returned to Wiltshire in 1995. In the same year, he joined
Gloucestershire and made his
first-class debut. He was appointed Gloucestershire captain in 2006. In 2005, Lewis was included in the
England squad for the two
Tests against
Bangladesh, but did not play in either match. He did, however, make his first international appearance in the
Twenty20 game against
Australia in June, and took 4–24 in his four overs as England recorded a crushing 100-run victory. He made his
One Day International debut a few days later in England's win against Bangladesh at
The Oval, again impressing with 3–32 from ten overs. He was included in the 13-man squad for the home series against
Sri Lanka in 2006, making his Test debut at
Trent Bridge on 2 June 2006 and taking a wicket with his fourth delivery (and third legitimate ball) in Test cricket. He is the 634th player to represent England at Test cricket. He was selected in a number of Test squads during the summer of 2006, but only played in one Test against Sri Lanka, coming to be regarded as something of a perennial
12th man. He did however bowl well in the ODIs against Pakistan, having finally been given an extended run in the side. Lewis was selected in England's 15-man squad for the
Cricket World Cup 2007, which was held in the Caribbean. His last appearance for England occurred in the 2007 limited-overs series against India. On 29 July 2011, it was announced that after 16 years with Gloucestershire, Lewis was to join
Surrey on a two-year deal. Lewis left Surrey at the end of the 2013 season to join
Sussex on a one-year contract ahead of the 2014 season. On 28 November 2014, Lewis announced his retirement from the professional game to become bowling coach at Sussex. ==Coaching career==