Cricket news: Chris Lynn opens up on Brisbane Heat BBL exit and life as a T20 gun-for-hire

Life as a T20 gun-for-hire isn’t all big pay cheques and luxury hotels. Chris Lynn reveals the mental toll and opens up on how he was stung by his axing from Brisbane Heat.

Chris Lynn in action for Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

Chris Lynn has revealed he fell out of love with cricket after his unceremonious dumping from the Brisbane Heat and feared he would never play in the Big Bash again.

Lynn insists that talk he may take legal action against Cricket Australia over plans to block him from going to the new UAE T20 League was a “last resort” he never wanted to entertain, as he praised CEO Nick Hockley for ultimately allowing him to head overseas, but still resurrect his BBL career with the Adelaide Strikers this summer.

It’s been an emotional roller coaster for Lynn from the moment he was told he was no longer wanted by his home town to welcoming baby girl Lily Maree into the world a fortnight ago while in the midst of tense negotiations over his cricketing future.

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Lynn has opened up to News Corp about the solitary life of being a T20 gun for hire; admitting his ego was bruised by his brutal Brisbane axing, but refusing to lambast the Heat because Queensland is where he wants to live and stay connected to the game.

“Obviously ego gets in the way a little bit when you’re not offered a contract … it obviously did suck a bit at the time, but I had the privilege to play for 10 years at the Brisbane Heat and it’s been awesome,” said Lynn, who got moved on despite being the BBL’s greatest ever run-scorer and one of its biggest ever drawcards.

“They had inklings I wasn’t overly happy with what’s gone on in there and a change is as good as a holiday and I needed a change.

“I was pretty flat throughout the last season to be honest. I’m not using that as an excuse. I suppose I just needed a breather away from the game.

“One thing I would never want to do is bad mouth the organisation because it still has a big place in my heart and obviously I feel I’ve been the blueprint of the Brisbane Heat over the last decade so you don’t want to waste that away by a few angry comments.

“It’s a business and you’re not going to get along with 100 per cent of the people, but that’s just the way it goes. You can’t sit here and just be bitter and bag them.”

👋 https://t.co/WHHXtOQTrN

— Chris Lynn (@lynny50) June 7, 2022

Chris Lynn has left Brisbane Heat and signed with Adelaide Strikers.

STRIKING A DEAL

After being shown the door by the Heat, Lynn became one of the prime targets for a new T20 league in the UAE offering overseas stars in excess of $500,000 for three weeks’ work.

Lynn also had an offer on the table from Jason Gillespie and the Adelaide Strikers and the ideal scenario for Lynn was to stay in the BBL for part of the competition, before heading to the UAE to cash in on his market value – just like overseas stars Rashid Khan and Trent Boult are being permitted to do.

Originally CA didn’t want to allow Lynn to double dip for fear it might set a precedent for other local stars to walk out on the BBL and claimed ICC rules required him to need a permission slip from CA to play in the UAE.

The 32-year-old felt he would either banned from the BBL altogether or forced to play the entire competition and be blocked from heading overseas.

“If you had told me six weeks ago I would have said I was no chance of playing the BBL,” said Lynn.

“I’m stoked with the outcome and I know it’s not the full season, but 11 games is better than none and I do miss two games over in the Emirates League, but that’s OK. I’ve got to give high praise to guys like Nick Hockley and Alistair Dobson, obviously they went out on a limb and I think (the compromise) is nearly the best outcome I could have wished for.

“Obviously I’ve been invested in the BBL for a long time now and I’d like to think I’ve grown the BBL and introduced a lot of boys and girls into the sport – so it’s a privilege to play in the BBL.

“(Legal action over restraint of trade) … other people were saying that, not me. It’s a tough one because obviously that’s a last resort and that’d be a pain in the arse for me as well. You never want it. I’m a pretty simple bloke. I don’t like causing too much of a fuss.

“There was a lot of words thrown around and the court case was one of them, but at the end of the day common sense prevails I believe.”

Lynn feared his BBL career was over before striking a deal to play 11 games.

REVVING THE ENGINE AGAIN

Lynn has revealed how a bond formed with F1 champion Daniel Ricciardo’s former performance coach has refuelled his hunger to dominate T20 cricket.

Adelaide has signed a man on a mission, but the master blaster has opened up about the mental funk he had to fight his way out of when he went to England’s Vitality T20 Blast this year, desperate to reignite his career.

“Everyone thinks, ‘franchise player, take the cash’ and all this bullshit, but I actually don’t have a home team to train with every day in Brisbane,” said Lynn.

“I do my own strength work, I’ve outsourced my own personal coach and sports psych and things like that you have to do by yourself.

“There are days where it does get a little bit shit, a bit lonely, but it’s what it’s.

“I’ve been working with a bloke called Stuey Smith (Ricciardo’s former mentor) and he’s been awesome in terms of your head space.

“Just being able to vent and express how I feel every day and working with someone outside the cricketing environment. You can’t fully open up when (the sports psyche) is getting employed by the coach or the CEO of the same organisation, so me outsourcing my own guy has just been awesome.

“Cricket isn’t exactly his forte but that different thinking and taking the blinkers off, gives you that gratitude if you’re in a bubble, to realise life isn’t too bad.

“From my point of point of view … I’ve found the love of the game again.

“It’s obviously a nice feeling when you’re wanted … and I want to be a leader down in Adelaide.”

Chris Lynn and Karlie Andrews' with their new baby. Picture: Instagram.

Cricketer Chris Lynn and his partner Karlie Andrews welcomed a baby girl to the family, Lily Maree Lynn.

Chris Lynn performed strongly in England’s Vitality Blast.

GABBA REMATCH

Adelaide’s negotiations with Lynn started before the BBL draw was done, and it’s no accident that CA has scheduled the Strikers in for a date with the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba early in the season.

Lynn admits he has no idea what reception he might get from the crowd now he’s wearing a different shade of blue.

“No idea, no idea. Whatever it will be, I know there will be one corporate box in there cheering me on with my family and mates, but that’s all at this point,” said Lynn.

“It probably depends on whether you bat or bowl first. If you get out there before they’ve had too many beers they might look after you!”