Hawke's Bay cricketer Blair Tickner says "it's good to be home" after his first Black Caps tour, and has shown it with both bat and ball in Central Districts' opening Plunket Shield match of the season against holders Canterbury.
Having played two of New Zealand's five Twenty20 matches in Bangladeshon a tour ended by cancellation amidst security threats just as a three-match one-day-cricket series was about to start in Pakistan, 28-year-old Tickner dominated the opening two days of the four-day match that started in Christchurch on Saturday.
Coming in at No 9 as Central Districts batted first and were all out for 369 early on the second day, Tickner scored 37 not out and then claimed the fourth five-wicket bag of his right-arm medium-fast bowling career. He took 5-64 off 17.2 overs as the more-favoured home side was all out for 241.
The Hawke's Bay influence on the game was big, with Bayley Wiggins scoring a Plunket Shield debut 133 to rescue Central after a bad start.
Tickner's victims included seasoned international Tom Latham, the Black Caps' stand-in captain on the recent tour.
Late on the third day on Monday, Central was 258-4 in the second innings, a lead of almost 390 runs.
Discussing the tour, Tickner said: 'It was good to be over there and bowl in the conditions, even if we were doing (a lot of) it in the nets.'
From Bangladesh, the squad headed to Pakistan to play three one-day internationals and five T20 Internationals. On the morning of the first ODI, however, the tour was suddenly cancelled following a security threat.
"We just got told we weren't going to the game and that we were going home," he said.
After leaving Pakistan, they spent two days in Dubai before flying home and staying in MIQ in Auckland. Although some of his teammates had experienced MIQ before, it was Tickner's first time.
"It's hard because you can't run, you can't bowl. It's tough but it's what you have to do these days. It takes a couple of weeks to get back into it (after MIQ) and be ready to play."
Had the tour been completed as scheduled, Tickner would have missed the first two Plunket Shield matches of the season for Central Districts. His early return meant he's been back training with the squad for the past fortnight in advance of this weekend's trip to Christchurch to play reigning champions Canterbury at Hagley Oval. Following that match, there's a brief trip home to Hawke's Bay next week, before another trip to Dunedin to play the Otago Volts in a match that starts on October 31.
Tickner is positive about the upcoming campaign for Central Districts. Before heading away with the Black Caps, he had had about six weeks of pre-season training. Upon his return, he noticed a difference within the squad.
'When I got back I really saw a change in the guys. The way they've gone about their training has been awesome. Stepping back into it and seeing it being even more professional than it was, I think we're looking better and better now.'
Hawke's Bay Black Cap Blair Tickner returns from international duty in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Photo / Paul Taylor
As a fast bowler, Tickner's body needs to withstand constant stress. His injury record so far has been good, something he puts down to his hard work.
"I've always gone to the gym and worked on my strength and conditioning. If you're diligent with that I feel like you're in a good space. Obviously, it's a bit of bad luck if you do get injured. It is hard on the body."
As well as being fit, he's also happy with his bowling.
"It's feeling good at the moment. It's all over 140 km per hour, and hopefully I can keep going up from there. It feels like the fastest I've bowled, especially since I've been back. Getting off the slow wickets in Bangladesh and now onto faster ones here, I feel like I can hopefully be over 140 consistently. I'm trying to swing the ball a bit more. I have worked on it, so hopefully this four-day season I'm going to get more wickets and push for that Test team."
When it comes to batting, things are a bit more light-hearted.
"It's going all right. We've got a lot of batting at the moment. We've got a lot of all-rounders, so I'm slowly going from No 9, pushing back to No 11. Hopefully, I can stay in single digits!"
Away from cricket, Tickner and his partner, Sarah, got engaged earlier this year and they have owned the 13th Stag Café at the Mitre 10 Sports Park in Hastings since July 2019 and, more recently, the Lost Stag Brew Box on Pakowhai Road. His being away so much with cricket means Sarah's role is huge.
"Sarah runs 13th Stag and helps out at Brew Box. She does everything, she's the hard worker behind it all."
With a wedding to plan, businesses to run and a successful cricket career, life is busy for the couple, but they wouldn't have it any other way.
Central play four matches in the opening stage of the shield competition, the next against Otago starting in Dunedin next Sunday. A match against Auckland in Nelson starts on November 7, after which they play Wellington in the capital, starting on November 15.
Two of Central's post-Christmas shield matches will be in Napier, against Otago starting on March 4 and Canterbury starting on March 20.
