Santa grants Chris Lynn his Christmas wish after Brisbane Heat claims first win of Big Bash season
Brisbane Heat slugger Chris Lynn asked Santa for an early Christmas gift before blasting 15 boundaries against the Sixers. Here’s why he should be on Australia’s T20 wish list.
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You could be forgiven for thinking Chris Lynn was still in Abu Dhabi’s T10 tournament during Sunday night’s demolition derby but the Brisbane Heat skipper says he’s just thankful for rediscovering his brutal best.
Faced with growing concerns over his form and stung by outside criticism, Lynn crunched 15 boundaries in a blistering 94 from 35 deliveries.
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The 29-year-old almost broke the 100m mark with one of his 11 towering sixes in a display that should have Australian selectors scrambling ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, but the leading BBL run-scorer says there was never concern from his end.
“At no stage do you panic,” Lynn said of his early-season form.
“Obviously there’s a bit of hype, a bit of press that you haven’t performed, but you’ve just got to put that to the side and go out and play with freedom and fearlessness, I guess, and that’s what my intentions were and it came off.
“I asked Santa for one wish for Christmas, and that was to get a win, and the boys got the job done tonight.”
Whether Santa grants a national recall remains to be seen but it’s fair to say Lynn is doing his utmost ahead of 2020’s showpiece event.
Sunday’s superb knock came after Lynn’s rampant T10 campaign last month, where he topped the run-scoring charts with a 53 average, striking above 236.
“It’s a good message (for Australia selectors) but I’m not even thinking about that stuff, to be honest,” Lynn said.
“One good innings doesn’t make a summer.
“With an innings like that, you want them to happen every day, but the fact of the matter is it’s not going to happen.
“But from a team point of view, it’s about building that consistency, and I know if my performance is consistent, then the team performances are going to be.”
Lynn conceded outside opinion, including that of Mark Waugh – who tweeted Lynn was playing “fearful cricket” across the first two games – gave him extra motivation against the Sixers.
“I actually read that tweet, Lynn said.
“I was going to text Junior because I was actually thinking that over the last couple of days.
“I’ve been going out there trying to put the world on my shoulders and that’s not the way I play, so go out there and play that free spirit cricket.”
Originally published as Santa grants Chris Lynn his Christmas wish after Brisbane Heat claims first win of Big Bash season