Blair and Sarah are well known in the Hawke’s Bay region, being owners and operators of the 13th Stag cafe at the Mitre 10 Sports Park between Hastings and Napier.
“Wishing Sarah all the best with recovery brother! Lots of love to you all,” Black Caps and Central Districts teammate Ajaz Patel commented.
The pair arrived in England last month along with nine-month-old daughter Flo with Blair making his Derbyshire by taking two wickets against Glamorgan.
It’s been a whirlwind few years for the couple with a wedding, Tickner’s test debut, Cyclone Gabrielle striking the Hawke’s Bay region followed by the birth of their first child.
Tickner made his test debut for New Zealand last February with four wickets against England at Bay Oval, but his mind wasn’t completely on the monumental match, with Cyclone Gabrielle having just torn apart his hometown of Hastings.
He was visibly emotional as he spoke to the press about the devastation he returned to.
“Obviously, you grow up there as a kid … it’s just crazy, to be honest, it’s hard to talk about, to be honest,” he said.
He spoke about what he thought his first test would look like, the dream of seeing your family and friends in the crowd cheering, a dream dashed by the storm.
By chance, he said his dad was able to stop in for half an hour as he was picking up generators for the people in Hawke’s Bay, just in time to see him take his first test wicket, before going on to make the seven-hour drive back home.
