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More than two years have passed since Blair Tickner last played for New Zealand, two years in which his life was thrown into chaos, his career into doubt, his family into crisis. “Obviously people haven’t seen me as much, but I feel like I’ve been doing all the right things for the last two years,” he said of his call-up, one game into the ODI series against England. “So nothing’s really changed. I’m still the same guy.” This is not true. So much has changed, and he is not the same guy.
In May 2024, while Tickner was in England playing for Derbyshire, his wife was diagnosed with leukaemia. He received the call just before the start of a County Championship game against Sussex, but because the toss had already taken place and he had been named in the XI the ECB refused Derbyshire permission to replace him, despite their opponents having agreed that they could do so. “We tried to get myself out of that game but the ECB kept me in,” he said. “So I had to play that game knowing my wife had leukaemia, going back and forth to the hospital and playing. Looking back, it’s crazy.” Extraordinarily in the circumstances, across the first two days Tickner produced his all-time, all-formats highest score with the bat, 47.
Tickner’s wife, Sarah, is now in remission. “It’s been a process but we’re in the good stage of it I guess now,” he said. “Still in remission and still monthly chemo, but she’s a strong woman. It’s been a big ordeal for the family but [we’re] getting out the other side.”
Since his last New Zealand appearance Tickner has inevitably been forced to re-evaluate his life, his career, and his priorities. “I guess it’s just things are bigger than cricket, really,” he said. “Luckily, we had a lot of time with the family. We took the positives out of it. We wouldn’t have spent that much time together as a family if that didn’t occur. We just took every good thing that we could out of it.”
Following the diagnosis Tickner faced the possibility that his career could be over, as he concentrated on supporting Sarah and helping to raise his daughter Flo, who was nine months old at the time. “I didn’t expect to play cricket for a while. I was ready to put that away,” he said. They returned to New Zealand but the leukaemia treatment, with sometimes lengthy gaps between chemotherapy sessions, allowed him to continue to play locally (and, indeed, to return to Derbyshire this summer). “I did miss one four-day game because one of the spinal chemos went really badly, but that was part of the plan,” he said. “If something went bad, I’d always be there. It was a journey for sure.”
The latest twist in the journey came on Sunday, when Kyle Jamieson was ruled out of the remainder of the ODI series with a side strain, and his phone rang. “I’ve been bowling well the last few seasons, so I’m ready. I guess I’ve always been ready. But I wasn’t expecting it,” he said. “I told the selector, unless he’s picking me, don’t worry about ringing me. After the year I’d had, and I wasn’t getting picked, I just wanted to go back and enjoy my cricket. So when I saw the call come through, I knew. I took the call and I didn’t say anything for about 10 minutes, because I didn’t know what to say. And I was with her family, who had gone through everything with us. They’d been amazing. So it was sort of for them really.”
Tickner grew emotional as he spoke about this moment, and what it means for him and his family. “My little one, obviously my little one’s never seen me play for New Zealand,” he said. “So it’s a special time for our family. I guess when you’ve been away from the group for so long you don’t expect to get back in there, especially when you’re an old boy like me, 32. But I’ve still got a lot of cricket in me. I feel like I’m bowling better than I ever have.”
Daryl Mitchell, whose innings in the first match in Mount Maunganui on Sunday was crucial in deciding it in the Black Caps’ favour, welcomed Tickner’s return to the squad. “It’s really cool to see him back wearing the silver fern and being part of this group,” he said. “His cricket speaks for itself – he charges in and gives it his all and bowls fast, but most importantly he’s a good person as well. You know what you’re going to get with Ticks, it’ll be high energy, it’ll be high pace, and he’ll keep giving to the team which is really important for us as a group.”
One thing he’ll be giving to the team, given his experiences across the last few years, is perspective. “I think cricketers probably don’t understand how lucky they are, really. We just let things pass,” Tickner said. “I make sure I’m playing the game that I love and enjoy it with everything. Last time I was here there was a lot of pressure and I was playing for my place a lot, and I probably didn’t enjoy my cricket as much as I would have liked. This time I didn’t expect it and I’m just here to enjoy it. And that’s all I’m going to do. There will always be a smile on my face.
“With what we’ve gone through the last two and a bit years I just want to, if I do get an opportunity, just really enjoy it in the moment. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself and now without that pressure I just feel like I can play free, and if I do get the chance I’ll be the real Blair Tickner that I wanted to be a few years ago.”
