How Brisbane Heat’s Chris Lynn took a saw to his bat and lifted his game

BRISBANE Heat master blaster Chris Lynn has revealed the secret ingredient to his “six of the century’’ was a groundsman’s saw.

CHRIS Lynn has revealed the secret ingredient to his “six of the century’’ was a groundsman’s saw.

Before taking an axe to Shaun Tait for a 121m six that went over the grandstand at the Gabba on Friday, Lynn turned amateur carpenter and took a saw to his own bats.

Lynn loved the power he could gain through his Gray-Nicolls blades but it troubled him that they were slightly too heavy to gain the bat speed he wanted.

That left him with the challenge of keeping as much wood as he could around the sweet spot while somehow making the bat lighter.

WARNE THE SHEIK OF PIQUE

Chris Lynn customised his bat in an unusual way. Pic: Darren England.

In a bolt of inspiration which was highly unorthodox but gave him the best of both worlds, he decided to fix the problem through his own handiwork.

“I went over to the groundsman’s shed at Allan Border Field and literally got one of those drop saws and went row-w-w-w,’’ Lynn said.

“I cut an inch off the bottom of the bat because it was too heavy. It became lighter and I have been using them ever since.

“I got a couple of double-hundreds in club cricket last summer and have used it in the Big Bash and it makes me comfortable facing guys bowling 140-150km/h.

“It is not the traditional bat and I have not known anyone else to do it.

“My theory is I don’t need an inch up near the handle so you might as well take it off the bottom of the bat and move your hands up an inch as well.

“In theory you are not leaning over any deeper and it still feels the same.’’

Lynn uses a heavy blade with a large edge and he hopes his huge six is evidence that large bats should not be banned in a way that some former players are pushing for them to be.

“Let’s hope they don’t outlaw those big bats. Mine are quite big but they are still heavy as well. Bowlers are allowed to bowl a short ball per over.’’

Lynn watched Dan Christian hit a six over a similar area of the Gabba last summer and remarked at the time he may never witness anything like it again. But he has, and he did it.

“Obviously I grew up watching Brett Lee’s six (which landed outside the Cricketer’s Club) which was something else and I saw Dan Christian’s last year so it was nice to do on myself. But it’s just a six. It’s not eight or 10.

“It felt nice off the bat. I thought I hit it quite high so I gave it every opportunity but because Taity bowls so quick I had to move the bat at a decent rate to get it down.’’

Lynn is in rare form and could easily be chosen for Australia in all forms of the game and should be a certainty for the short ones.

Shaun Tait could only watch Lynn clearing the Gabba. Pic Darren England

After seriously injuring his left shoulder three years in a row in training, he is cautious about his prospects.

“To play a full season without getting injured is a goal,’’ he said.

“My shoulder is deteriorating a bit and at the moment it is quite sore. I can get through a T20 game and a one-day game but right now it is sore and I don’t know whether I could back up tomorrow if I had to.

“That is the issue, backing up. I can do it in T20 but the next day I might not be able to throw 20m.

“So it is hard to translate that to a longer format. Can I throw the ball from the boundary? It is probably not there just yet. T20 suits my body at the moment but if I can work hard and get out right there is still the ambition to play (Test cricket) but firstly I have to stay on the paddock.

“I feel I have good stats in first class cricket but they are not going anywhere because I have not played.’’