Blair Tickner eyeing brighter times with Black Caps in Bangladesh

Friday, 17 April 2026

What: First ODI, New Zealand v Bangladesh. Where: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. When: Friday 5pm (NZ time), Sky Sport 2.

Blair Tickner would be justified in feeling a curse has been lifted.

The Black Caps pace bowler is back from injury as part of the ODI and T20I squad in Bangladesh, starting with the first ODI in Mirpur on Friday (5pm NZ time).

Tickner last played for New Zealand in the second test against the West Indies in Wellington in December, when he’d taken 4-32 on day one before dislocating his left shoulder when trying to stop a boundary in the field.

While he made a quick return to domestic cricket with Central Districts, an ankle injury soon ended his season.

But there’s been good news off the field for the 32-year-old.

Wife Sarah, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in late April 2024, finishes her chemotherapy treatment in August.

His father's Hawke's Bay house was destroyed in the Cyclone Gabrielle floods in the same month the bowler made his test debut against England in February 2023, so there was a great deal of stress over the possible damage Cyclone Vaianu was predicted to inflict last weekend.

“You saw the scarring from the last time - people were preparing for this one, after the last one when we didn’t get much warning,” Tickner said from Dhaka on Wednesday.

“You could see the worry on everyone’s faces before we flew out - our flight out to Auckland was put forward because flights were being cancelled.”

Fortunately, the cyclone eased away, allowing Tickner to travel for the tour, which consists of three ODIs and three T20Is for a Black Caps squad missing 18 frontline players.

Tickner said the ankles issue “was a bit of a weird one”, affecting the tendon behind his heel.

“It’s been a few months, but it's as good as gold now.’

The right-armer only took six weeks to recover fully from his dislocated shoulder.

“It involved a lot of hard work. I felt like I was bowling well before that so I just wanted to get back out there. I was bowling the best I’d bowled for a while, so to do it was unfortunate.

“There were a few weird injuries for the fast bowlers, myself included - it was a bit of a curse going around.”

Tickner said there were a number of adjustments the pace bowlers will need for the conditions in Bangladesh.

“You have to get used to the heat first - it was about 37 degrees today, with 75% humidity. That was a bit tough for our first bowl.

“It’ll be about using your variations … the wickets can be so different; communicating well early on as a team seeing how the wicket’s playing, just hitting the hard length over and over again really. The bounce can be up and down at times, so if you can bash the wicket it can do either.”

Tickner is joined on the tour by fellow quicks Will O’Rourke, Matt Fisher, and later on, Ben Sears - providing fierce competition as players aim to impress ahead of a three-test series in England in June.

“Obviousy every opportunity with New Zealand, I’m going to try and take with both hands.

“In the ODIs versus England, and in the test match, I had a good run and hopefully I can keep putting performances on the board.

“I’ve really enjoyed coming back into it and making contributions for the team. After the injury I had a bit more time to reflect on how it went, I was pretty chuffed with it all.

“I think I’ve been bowling well for the last two years, with the Central Stags but without opportunities, and I probably thought my days of playing for New Zealand were probably done.

“So when I did get the opportunity, I wanted to embrace it and enjoy it, and play with a smile on my face. I probably took the opportunity better than I had earlier with the Black Caps - a relaxed Blair Tickner.

“When you’re a bit younger, you want it to go well all the time.”