Chris Lynn, bowlers star in small chase as Strikers break New Year's Eve hoodoo
The batter, playing his 300th T20, hammered an unbeaten 41-ball 79 to take Strikers to their first win since 2018
AAP
31-Dec-2025 • 6 hrs ago
Chris Lynn's fifty aced a small chase • Getty Images
Adelaide Strikers 125 for 3 (Lynn 79*, Patterson 1-15) beat Brisbane Heat 121 (Kuhnemann 31, Overton 3-19, Scott 2-12) by seven wickets
Adelaide Strikers have snapped a seven-year BBL New Year's Eve hoodoo with Chris Lynn powering them to a resounding seven-wicket victory over Brisbane Heat. After skittling Heat for 121 in 19.4 overs at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night, the Strikers romped home with 35 deliveries to spare.
Lynn, playing his 300th T20, thumped six fours and six sixes in an unbeaten 79 off 41 balls to pilot the clinical chase. It was the Strikers' first win in the marquee December 31 clash since 2018, and swift payback for their seven-run loss to Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday.
Captain Matt Short (19), Mackenzie Harvey (11) and Jerrssis Wadia (1) perished, but the Heat couldn't contain Lynn. He became the first BBL batter to reach 4000 runs, fittingly raising the milestone by depositing Xavier Bartlett into the stands.
Lynn raised his record-extending 32nd BBL half-century off 30 deliveries, before smoking Matthew Kuhnemann for three successive sixes near the finish.
Earlier, Heat crashed to 21 for 5 in the sixth over, before Kuhnemann (T20 career-best 31*) and Hugh Weibgen (28) avoided total embarrassment. Jamie Overton (3-19), Liam Scott (2-12) and Hasan Ali (2-29) were the pick of the Strikers attack.
Scott, sparingly used in Strikers' opening two fixtures, took the new ball and bowled all his allotted four overs upfront. The Heat's top three - Colin Munro (4), Jack Wildermuth (5) and Lachlan Hearne (2) - all succumbed in identical fashion, miscuing tamely to mid off. Golden bat leader Matt Renshaw (6) was run out, before Max Bryant (1) nicked off to Scott.
When Jimmy Peirson (13) chopped on to Hasan, Heat were 47 for 6. Kuhnemann - whose previous career-best was 9* - took the long handle to Lloyd Pope and put on 36 for the eighth wicket with Weibgen, but their team's hole was too deep.