Wellington, Nov 6 (IANS) New Zealand fast bowler Blair Tickner opened up on his perspective on life and cricket after having seen his wife, Sarah, battle cancer treatment following a leukaemia diagnosis in April 2024.
Tickner, who starred with the bat during New Zealand’s first ODI against India in Auckland, spoke about how his life and career have panned out, opening up about his wife coming through eight months of cancer treatment.
“My life, I guess it’s been up and down,” Tickner said on the eve of New Zealand’s 2nd ODI against India at Hnry Stadium in Wellington. “It’s amazing to have Sarah and my family (get) through it all, and I guess now I’m just trying to enjoy my cricket, and I’ve probably been a bit more myself.
“I’ve had different parts of my career. I guess (at the) start of my career, I felt a lot of pressure. Then we had Sarah’s cancer treatment; it was hard, and now I’m sort of at the back end, and I’m looking forward to just having fun, really, and it’s what I’m trying to do, to (be) myself really.”
He added that the period taught him that cricket is an important part of his career, but not the only thing he has in his life. “I try to play with a smile on my face, and it’s a lot more than cricket, obviously,” he said. “It’s done a lot for me, but I know that at the end of the day I’m going to go home to my daughter and my wife and I’m pretty happy and pretty lucky to do that. So yeah, cricket’s a little bit less than that.”
The speedster made a strong 34-ball 23 from No. 11 in the series opener against India, with his four sixes being a highlight of New Zealand’s 185. Reflecting on the knock, he joked that he would like to move up the order and maybe even to No. 3.
“Yeah, there were a few conversations before I went out, because I batted alright against England last time I was here (in Wellington), so I gave him (Duffy) a bit of (stick) for that. I’m happy to move up to 10 – I just have to slowly make my way up to No. 3, I think.”
In the Wellington ODI against England, Tickner had made an unbeaten 18 in his team’s two-wicket win on a low-scoring surface. He hopes that the venue will dish out a similar, adding that conditions in ODIs are more helpful to the bowlers than in the T20Is.
“Yeah, we saw last year against England as well – there was a little bit more in the wicket then, especially here (in Wellington),” Tickner said. “As a bowler (I’m) hoping for that. I don’t want to be at a game where 400 chase(s) 400, so I’m looking forward to a bit of extra bounce, hopefully a bit of nip off the wicket.”
“Dimensions in New Zealand are different at every ground we go,” Tickner said. “Obviously this is a lot shorter square, and then straight’s quite long, so it’s completely different to Eden Park, so we probably take that (into account), especially in our death bowling, because one-day cricket you obviously try and take wickets early with more traditional bowling, but definitely at the death we talk about different plans – although I won’t tell you,” he added.
–IANS
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