Lynn steps away from Heat captaincy to focus on batting

Chris Lynn has confirmed he will stand down as Brisbane Heat captain after three seasons in charge to focus on his batting, the club announced today.

The move has been on the cards, with Darren Lehmann flagging the change back in April when he was given a one-year extension as the club's head coach.

Wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson is the front-runner for the role, having impressed while filling in for the injured Lynn for part of last summer.

Having been soundly beaten in the opening two games of BBL|10 under Lynn's leadership, the Heat's season turned when Peirson took over the captaincy after Lynn injured his hamstring.

The club won three of its five games under the gloveman's captaincy and their two losses in that time were by margins of just one run and two runs.

Lynn returned to the side in January and finished as the tournament's fourth-highest run-scorer as he guided the Heat on an impressive run that saw them scrape into the finals and beat both the Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder in the knockout stage.

But Peirson's own impressive form with the bat last season and his undoubted leadership credentials as a Sheffield Shield-winning skipper mean the Heat have an obvious replacement, should he choose to take up the challenge.

"It has been a huge honour to skipper the Heat for the last three years and I am very grateful for all the backing and support from the players, coaching and backroom staff and the loyal Heat fans and sponsors," Lynn said in a statement.

"I am very proud to have led the boys and I have really enjoyed my time as captain. I have thought long and hard about my decision, and I think it is the right time for someone else to take over the reins and keep building with this talented group of players."

Lynn has led the club in 48 games across two stints as full-time captain, the first in BBL|05 in a player-of-the-tournament season, before handing the reins to New Zealand icon Brendon McCullum for two summers, before again taking up the mantle in 2018-19 in BBL|08.

The big-hitting Queenslander who now plies his trade exclusively on the global T20 franchise circuit, is the KFC BBL's all-time leading run scorer and six-hitter.

Th Heat's BBL|10 campaign saw him score 458 runs in 13 games, the most for the club despite missing five matches with injury.

His overall record has seen him score 2790 runs in 90 games, at a strike rate of 151.05, with a massive 172 sixes – 75 more than the next best, Glenn Maxwell with 97 sixes.

Lynn, who made headlines during the IPL for his comments about the federal government's ban on arrivals from India during the tournament, took his time to mull over the decision to step away from the captaincy.

Queensland Cricket CEO Terry Svenson said a final decision on the next Heat captain would be made closer to the season, with Lehmann, Bulls coach Wade Seccombe and Queensland's high performance boss Bennett King all likely to be involved.

"Something like this is never a simple or comfortable process, and Chris certainly has our full support for the decision he has reached," Svenson said.

"We certainly respect his choice, and the reasoning behind it. He hasn't rushed things and has consulted with key people in his life to make this call.

"Having spoken at length with him, I am very confident that he and Heat will both benefit from his decision and we certainly look forward to him bringing his experience and undoubted batting prowess to bear on the BBL|11 season and beyond."