He played every Championship game in 2003, taking 42 wickets. In 2004, Lewry was the third wicket as Dimitri Mascarenhas took the first hat-trick in Twenty20 cricket. He took 40 wickets in 2005, but missed the last six matches due to a groin injury. He returned to the side for the 2006 season, and was part of the side that won the Championship that season, and also in 2007. From 2004, Lewry played fewer List A matches, playing only seven times between 2004 and 2008. Lewry was the leading wicket-taker in the 2008 County Championship, taking 41 wickets. For the 2009 season, he signed a contract only to play Championship matches, saying "I have only played seven games since 2004 so I have effectively retired from one-day cricket anyway" and "I want to play on and prolong my career. I certainly wouldn’t go anywhere else – I’m Sussex through and through." After the 2009 season, in which he took 10 wickets, Lewry announced his retirement from first-class cricket; He had hinted at retirement many times since 2005, so much so that his hints at retirement "have become something of a joke in Sussex". Lewry actually retired this time. He went to play for Goring Cricket Club, the team that he had left in 1994 to join Sussex.