'Lynn a tough character, will bounce back' – Ashton Agar

Ashton Agar said the Australian team felt for their teammate Chris Lynn, who picked up another injury in the final of the Trans-Tasman Twenty20 Tri-Series, and backed the big-hitting batsman to bounce back.

Lynn injured his right shoulder while fielding in the game against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland on Wednesday (21 February), and had to be taken for scans. He was seen in a sling during the rain break. Further assessment in Brisbane will determine the extent of his treatment.

"That's so devastating. The boys are shattered for him,” said Agar after the match. “Seeing your mates get injured is never nice and it is always pretty painful. But hopefully, it is not too bad and he can recover from that well. We'll just have to wait and see."

This is not the first time that Lynn has injured his shoulder. He had to undergo a surgery after facing a similar injury during the India Premier League (IPL) 2017 and had only returned to action recently in the Big Bash League 2017-18. Describing Lynn as “a tough character”, Agar said that bouncing back from injuries was part of a cricketer's career.

"That's all there is. You just have to keep coming back. You just have to put the rehab in and over time you have to keep coming back and keep growing.

"He is a really tough character. He's got a strong mind and a really good mindset towards the game, so I know he will do everything he can and he will bounce back really well," he said.

Agar's 3/27 in the final helped Australia restrict New Zealand to 150/9 in 20 overs. In reply, they were comfortably placed at 121/3 in 14.4 overs when a second rain interruption meant Australia were awarded the title because they were ahead of the DLS par score by 19 runs.

It wrapped up Australia's dominant run in the T20 series, where they won all five matches. Agar, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his spell, said the team was upbeat about the success. "It was pleasing, personally, but most of all, pleasing for this group, [because of] our T20 ranking and just consistently stringing some really good games together and registering a series win against two really good sides," he said.

After picking up the wickets of New Zealand captain Kane Willamson, Mark Chapman and Colin de Grandhomme, Agar earned a surprising promotion in the batting order when, with Lynn injured, he was sent in at the fall of the first wicket.

"As soon as we came off the ground [at innings break], I was told I was going to do that [bat up the order]. I probably could have done it a bit better. I actually hit the ball, but never mind, I guess that's cricket and it didn't come off tonight, but hopefully another time it will," he said.

Agar insisted he wasn’t particular about his batting position, especially given the demands of T20 cricket. "That is how I am trying to set myself up. To have the ability to try and bat anywhere, that's probably my goal. I will just keep trying to do my thing and keep improving."