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. \u201cObviously people haven\u2019t seen me as much, but I feel like I\u2019ve been doing all the right things for the last two years,\u201d he said of his call-up, one game into the ODI series against England. \u201cSo nothing\u2019s really changed. I\u2019m still the same guy.\u201d This is not true. So much has changed, and he is not the same guy.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to get myself out of that game but the ECB kept me in,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I had to play that game knowing my wife had leukaemia, going back and forth to the hospital and playing. Looking back, it\u2019s crazy.\u201d Extraordinarily in the circumstances, across the first two days Tickner produced his all-time, all-formats highest score with the bat, 47.<\/p>\n
Tickner\u2019s wife, Sarah, is now in remission. \u201cIt\u2019s been a process but we\u2019re in the good stage of it I guess now,\u201d he said. \u201cStill in remission and still monthly chemo, but she\u2019s a strong woman. It\u2019s been a big ordeal for the family but [we\u2019re] getting out the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since his last New Zealand appearance Tickner has inevitably been forced to re-evaluate his life, his career, and his priorities. \u201cI guess it\u2019s just things are bigger than cricket, really,\u201d he said. \u201cLuckily, we had a lot of time with the family. We took the positives out of it. We wouldn\u2019t have spent that much time together as a family if that didn\u2019t occur. We just took every good thing that we could out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect to play cricket for a while. I was ready to put that away,\u201d 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). \u201cI did miss one four-day game because one of the spinal chemos went really badly, but that was part of the plan,\u201d he said. \u201cIf something went bad, I\u2019d always be there. It was a journey for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blair Tickner is back in a New Zealand squad for the first time since May 2023 when he last featured in an ODI against Pakistan in Karachi. Photograph: Joe Allison\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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. \u201cI\u2019ve been bowling well the last few seasons, so I\u2019m ready. I guess I\u2019ve always been ready. But I wasn\u2019t expecting it,\u201d he said. \u201cI told the selector, unless he\u2019s picking me, don\u2019t worry about ringing me. After the year I\u2019d had, and I wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t say anything for about 10 minutes, because I didn\u2019t know what to say. And I was with her family, who had gone through everything with us. They\u2019d been amazing. So it was sort of for them really.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickner grew emotional as he spoke about this moment, and what it means for him and his family. \u201cMy little one, obviously my little one\u2019s never seen me play for New Zealand,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s a special time for our family. I guess when you\u2019ve been away from the group for so long you don\u2019t expect to get back in there, especially when you\u2019re an old boy like me, 32. But I\u2019ve still got a lot of cricket in me. I feel like I\u2019m bowling better than I ever have.\u201d<\/p>\n