No red-ball cricket, diving for injury-prone Chris Lynn

A long, wretched history with shoulder injuries has forced Chris Lynn to adapt the policy of 'no diving' on the cricket field

A long, wretched history with shoulder injuries has forced Chris Lynn to adapt the policy of ‘no diving’ on the cricket field as the big-hitting Australian aims to prolong his playing career. That also includes not playing red-ball cricket for his domestic side Queensland.

To not push his luck with injuries, Lynn is focusing on limited-overs cricket for now as he will fly to Dubai this Sunday to join Australia squad for a three-match T20I series against Pakistan.

Lynn was in blazing form during the Australian Domestic One-Day Cup as he struck 452 runs at 75.33 with a hundred and three half-centuries for Queensland. But he will not be playing in the Sheffield Shield 2018-19 that starts from October 16.

“It’s currently white ball only, purely just because of my body,” Lynn was quoted as saying by Foxsports.com.au on Wednesday. “If I have a big day one in a Shield game there’s no way I could back up day two, three or four.”

He wants to remain fully fit and conserve himself so that he’s available for selection for the ICC World Cup next year. “In 12 months we’ll have a look at it and see where the body’s at, but for the time being there’s plenty of white ball cricket in front of me,” he said.

Lynn, 28, who has played one ODI and 10 T20Is, has reiterated his vow to never dive for a ball while fielding. “I told myself I’ll never dive again on the cricket field; it’s hard cause mentally I want to get every ball I can,” he said. “My last couple of shoulder reconstructions were from diving and that’s just brain fades from wanting to stop the ball.”

“But I’ve got to realise that if I want that longevity in the game I’ve got to pull my ego back a little and put more runs on the board.”