BLAST OFF! Batting star Chris Lynn has 'unfinished business' with the Steelbacks

The Australian batting sensation will be hoping to pick up where he left off last season when he lines up in Wednesday night's Vitality Blast opener against Worcestershire Rapids at the County Ground (start 6.30pm).

Lynn enjoyed a dream first season at Wantage Road, scoring two centuries and four half-centuries in just 10 innings, as he racked up more than 500 runs at an average of more than 64.

His top score of 113 not out came against Wednesday night’s opponents, the Rapids.

And although he isn't setting himself any sort of personal target for the upcoming season, aside from 'scoring as many runs as possible', he is desperate to help the team reach the knockout stages for the first time since 2020.

For much of last season, the Steelbacks looked well set to make the last eight, and they were leading the North Group table at the halfway stage.

But they fell away towards the end, and that still rankles with Lynn, who was quick to agree to make his return to Northampton over the winter, saying he has come back to a town and a club where he feels right at home.

"It was an easy decision to come back, and I think I said it at the end of last year that I definitely have unfinished business here," said the former Australia international.

"The lads are great here, I feel like I am invested in the club, the community, the coaching staff, the players, everyone.

"I don't want to put any added pressure on, but I am here to score as many runs as possible, to help Dave Willey and the boys, and to just have as much fun as I did last summer.

"I had a couple of little hurdles with injuries last year, but touch wood there is none of that and we can go on and finish the competition strongly.

"We fell away a bit last year and that the most disappointing thing because we had put ourselves in such a great position.

"We batted quite well throughout the tournament, and generally you do have a couple of really bad performances with the bat and they just came at the wrong time.

"We had a couple of tight games that didn't go our way, and we weren't good enough on some occasions and that is cricket.

"We definitely lost momentum, and maybe a little bit of intensity, and there were a lot of controllables in our favour that we could have adjusted to, and that all comes down to attitude and being hungry to want to play in finals.

"I know that is a big thing for this group this year, and something that the skipper Dave Willey is going to harp on about.

"There are a lot of things you can't control, so when you get the opportunities to do so you have to really make the most of it."

One of the main reasons the Steelbacks were in such a strong position last season was down to Lynn, who was in electrifying form throughout his first stint in the Blast.

The opener lit up the County Ground, becoming the first Northants player to score two Blast hundreds, and there was the little matter of him hammering 29 sixes in the competition - the third best in the country.

It is going to be tough for the 33-year-old to match those numbers this year, but he says he will be giving it his best shot.

"Whatever happens, happens. I have done the work, and the preparation," said the Brisbane-born player, who spent the winter playing for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, and then helping Gulf Giants to title glory in the first International League T20 tournament held in Dubai.

"We all know that cricket is a game that can bite you in the backside if you get too far ahead of yourself, or you can just get good balls bowled at you and get out. That is just the nature of it.

"But first and foremost we have to have that team first mentality, and if we can gets some wins on the board that's great.

"Hopefully we will learn the lessons from last year and hold that momentum, make the quarter-finals and if you do that you are just two or three man of the match performances away from potentially winning the competition."

And that is the ultimate dream for Lynn,

He is a Big Bash winner and has also won titles in other leagues around the world, and would love to be celebrating Blast success with the Steelbacks at Edgbaston on Finals Day on July 15.

"I have been fortunate enough to play in the finals of every comp that I have been involved with, except this one," he said.

"This is my second year and I will take a lot of learnings from last season, but the next step is have a good season and for the team to make the finals.

"That's what makes the difference between good seasons and great seasons."