Out of contract BBL star Lynn signs for English T20 stint

Chris Lynn will take to county cricket this year in his quest for a new Big Bash deal after signing with Northamptonshire to play in England's domestic T20 competition.

The KFC BBL's all-time leading run scorer was out of contract at the end of the 2021-22 season when his five-year deal expired, and he is yet to sign with the Brisbane Heat or another club.

Lynn hit 215 runs at 17.91 in his 12 BBL|11 matches – his leanest return in 11 seasons in the competition – and only passed fifty once as the Heat finished the tournament in seventh with just three wins.

Renowned as one of the cleanest hitters in the Big Bash, the 32-year-old relinquished the Heat captaincy before the start of the season to focus on his batting, a move that ultimately backfired during a season that also saw him miss two games due to COVID.

Lynn, who has made 18 T20 appearances for Australia from 2014 to 2018 and also featured in four one-day internationals, was the first player to play 100 BBL matches for the one club, bringing up the milestone against Melbourne Stars at the MCG on January 16 this year.

He also holds the record for the most sixes in the men's Big Bash with 180, 71 ahead of Glenn Maxwell in second.

The Queenslander has spent more than a decade playing for T20 franchises in India, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Canada, plus the English Hundred competition last year, but he has not previously played for an English county team.

"I have always wanted to play county cricket and I’m really looking forward to joining up with Northamptonshire," Lynn said.

"The UK is a great place to play and I am hopeful that I can contribute with some good performances and also try to entertain the Steelback fans this summer."

Lynn has scored 6,140 runs at a strike rate of 142 in his 230-game T20 career, hitting two centuries and 40 fifties.

"He fits the bill really well in terms of his power at the top of the order," Steelbacks skipper Josh Cobb said.

"I really get the feeling he has a hunger to go out there and perform and when he does Wantage Road certainly won't be big enough."

Lynn joins Kiwi Jimmy Neesham as Northamptonshire’s second overseas player for the tournament, which gets underway on May 25, and is available for all 14 group stage matches plus finals fixtures.

He also joins fellow Australians Ben McDermott, Nathan Ellis (both Hampshire Hawks), Ashton Turner (Durham), Dan Christian (Notts Outlaws), Daniel Sams (Essex), Tim David (Lancashire) and Josh Philippe (Sussex) in signing for counties purely to play in the T20 competition.

Northants won the trophy in 2013 and 2016 but have not reached the four-team Finals Day since.