A former England cricketer will appear in court today charged with drug smuggling after nearly 4kg of cocaine was seized at Gatwick Airport.

Fast bowler Chris Lewis, 40, who played 32 Tests and 53 one-day internationals in the 1990s, was arrested yesterday when UK Border Agency staff found the drug - with an estimated street value of £200,000 - hidden in luggage.

He will appear at Crawley Magistrates' Court this morning.

The drugs were found hidden in baggage which arrived on a flight from St Lucia in the Caribbean. They were in a liquid form hidden in fruit tins.

Lewis, and basketball player Chad Kirnon, 26, who are both from London, were held and questioned by Customs officials and later charged.

HM Revenue & Customs spokesman Bob Gaiger said: "This was an excellent detection by UK Border Agency officers.

"HMRC, together with UKBA, play a vital role in the fight to prevent illegal drugs from entering the UK and in protecting our communities from the violence and corruption that always accompany this hideous trade."

A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said Lewis, of Bruce Road, Brent, and Kirnon, of Carnegie Street, Islington, arrived together on a flight which landed at 6am.

The drugs were discovered as part of routine checks. The men were arrested on the spot, questioned yesterday and charged last night, he said.

"They had arrived on a flight from St Lucia. UKBA officials were carrying out checks on the baggage from that flight.

"During the course of that search they discovered the cocaine in fruit tins."

Lewis, who was born in Guyana, claimed 93 wickets during his England Test career and finished with a Test batting average of 23.

He retired from county cricket in 2000 because of a persistent hip injury after spells with Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Surrey.

Earlier this year he joined Surrey to play in 20-overs matches but with little success.

He was labelled "The Prat without a Hat" by a tabloid newspaper after sunstroke forced him off the field during an England tour of the West Indies in 1994.

It emerged that he had shaved his head before the match and not put any suncream on.