Lynn revealed to have served one-month suspension for cocaine use

The veteran Australian T20 batter Chris Lynn served a one-month ban for cocaine use in August and has since undergone a rehabilitation programme, England's Cricket Regulator has revealed.

Lynn, 36, undertook a standard anti-doping test on T20 Blast Finals Day on July 18, when he made scores of 39 and 4 as Northamptonshire lifted the trophy for the third time. His urine sample was then sent to a laboratory in France for analysis which confirmed the presence of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

Lynn travelled to Sri Lanka to play in the Lanka Premier League immediately after the Blast, but was ruled out by an unspecified leg injury on July 29 after he had made a single appearance for Galle Gallants. Two days later, he was notified of the adverse analytical findings in his sample by the Cricket Regulator and was provisionally suspended.

Three weeks later, Lynn confirmed that he had used cocaine "during a period of several hours across the evening of 15 July 2026 and into the early hours of 16 July 2026". Earlier that evening, Lynn had been forced to retire hurt in Northants' quarter-final victory over Gloucestershire when he was struck on the foot by a low full-toss from Duan Jansen.

The Regulator accepted Lynn's assertion that his drug use occurred out of competition and that it was unrelated to sporting performance.

Lynn was initially charged under two articles of the ECB's anti-doping rules, though one of the two charges was later dropped as the level of cocaine in his urine sample was below the minimum level required for a charge under World Anti-Doping Authority rules.

The Regulator initially intended to suspend Lynn for three months, but this was dropped to one month after he provided confirmation that he had completed a "substance of abuse treatment programme". This was deemed to have been completed on August 30, a month after the start of his provisional suspension.

Lynn has not played any professional cricket since the start of his ban. He has not yet officially signed a deal for the upcoming season of the Big Bash League, where he first made his name as a destructive six-hitter, but Code Sports reported this week that he has agreed to join Melbourne Renegades.