Chris Lynn’s decision to chase the riches of the IPL instead comes from not getting enough chances

We all know that if Chris Lynn’s last name was different he would have been given ample time to settle in for Australia. Instead, his hand has been forced to leave international cricket.

Chris Lynn is leaving international cricket behind.

Hold the phone Chris Lynn! Just change your last name to Marsh.

That’s the way we can salvage your international cricket career and make you a certain starter for Australia for YEARS to come. It’s simple when you think about it. Problem solved. You are welcome.

Now go get ‘em in the World Cup Lynny…err…umm…ah…Marshy.

Lynn effectively pulling himself out of the running for Australia’s squad for the upcoming World Cup in England by focusing on his rich IPL deal is equal parts understandable, sad and a little infuriating.

Shaun Marsh and Chris Lynn pictured agreeing on a name change so Marsh can escape the spotlight and Lynn gets a chance.

Let’s start with the infuriating/sad parts first.

Sure, Lynn had well-documented and poorly timed injury dramas that curtailed his chances at international level.

When he did finally get a bat, he rarely fired and was quickly dropped – unlike others who went through extended rough trots but had a surname that rhymes with Harsh and were handed every chance under the sun to secure their place in the national team.

If only Lynn was afforded that same ridiculous luxury to feel like he had some breathing space to make himself comfortable at the international level.

He always seemed in a real hurry when he was batting for Australia as though if he didn’t make runs that very day, he was gone.

It was like there was a gun to his green helmet.

Chris Lynn was always under pressure to score quickly and score now for Australia.

Maybe it’s just part and parcel of being a Queenslander. Even when you score runs, you are never, EVER safe.

Just look at his Bulls teammate Joe Burns with the Test side and all the speculation about the make-up of the batting order for the Ashes.

He makes 180-odd against Sri Lanka and is somehow under the pump because Cameron Bancroft makes runs in his Sheffield Shield comeback. Spare me.

It would be different if he came from NSW. Very different. Kurtis Patterson scores a hundred against Sri Lanka and he is in the baggy green for a decade.

Anyway, back to Lynn.

It’s genuinely sad we never saw the best of Lynn in the green-and-gold. He is exactly the game-changing X-factor that the Australian team needed.

He didn’t score runs in the three-game series against the very strong South Africa at the start of the summer and plans to have him as our no.3 batsman at the World Cup were ripped up on the spot.

Yes, his shoulder is no good and you had to hide him in the field too but it’s a still a shocking lack of patience and foresight.

He’d bring the crowds back to the 50-over game which has become the black sheep of the cricket format family. And if he felt like he could attack at will, relatively free of consequence from the selectors, he would have slayed international attacks all over the park.

As a young fella growing up, he would have yearned to represent his country in all forms of the game.

But one of the realities of modern-day cricket is that players will now bounce from T20 competition to T20 competition as hired guns, forgoing international aspirations.

That’s now a legitimate career path.

You can call him a mercenary if you want.

But what would you do if you were in Lynn’s shoes?

There’s a $1.86 million contract waiting for you in the IPL that will set you up for life.

Or you can remain on the fringe of the fringes of national selection and be constantly disappointed by the lack of faith from the selectors.

You choose.

You can’t blame Lynn for his choice.

Go well Lynny.

Originally published as Chris Lynn’s decision to chase the riches of the IPL instead comes from not getting enough chances