The leading run-scorer in Big Bash League history Chris Lynn has signed with Adelaide Strikers where he is set to play for 11 of the 14 group matches before playing in the UAE for the ILT20 team with the Gulf Giants. The deal holds a special significance as it allows Lynn effectively to split time between the two T20 competitions. 


He will be given a No Objection Certificate from 20 January 2023, where Lynn’s last match for Adelaide Strikers will be against his former club Brisbane Heat at the Adelaide Oval on 14 January. This means he is set to miss the opening matches of the ILT20 which will start on 6 January 2023. Lynn's deal comes after the big-money contract signed by David Warner who will play for the Sydney Thunder on a two-year deal.


Cricket Australia released a statement addressing Lynn’s new deal and the riff between the player and the board about requiring a NOC when he wasn’t contracted by the CA on any level. A spokesperson of the board said, "Cricket Australia welcomes the Adelaide Strikers' signing of Chris Lynn.”



“He will be released from 20 January to participate in UAE's ILT20 competition from that date. Lynn does not hold a CA or State contract and has not done so since his last Queensland Cricket contract expired in June 2019.”


“Each matter regarding release for overseas competitions is subject to the individual's circumstances. Our guiding principle remains the prioritisation and protection of Australia's domestic summer of cricket and the interests of the game overall", the statement further read.


In May 2022, Lynn was dropped from his long-time Big Bash League franchise Brisbane Heat. Queensland Cricket and Brisbane Heat CEO Terry Svenson confirmed the news and released a statement on Lynn’s departure. “It's not a decision that has come easily to the Heat by any means,'' Svenson said.


"Chris Lynn and his feats have made an indelible impression on the club, and his efforts over more than a decade can rightly be said to have had an enormously positive effect on cricket. We should gratefully acknowledge the influence he has had on a generation of kids who have grown up thrilled by his batting exploits,” he continued.