Black Caps bowler Blair Tickner is returning to New Zealand from England so his wife can continue cancer treatment after she was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after the family arrived in Derbyshire for the county cricket season. 

Last month, the Black Caps and Central Districts star revealed on social media that wife Sarah had been diagnosed with leukemia and was undergoing treatment in the United Kingdom. 

The couple and daughter Florence are now heading home. 

In a video posted by Derbyshire, Tickner revealed that Sarah was diagnosed while he was playing a four-day game against Sussex. 

“It was a crazy thing to hear at the time but we’ve got into the swing of things and she’s doing well,” Tickner said on a video shared by Derbyshire. 

“As a family, we’ve just got to head back and it’s bigger than cricket at the moment. So we’re going to go back and do the next block of chemo in New Zealand.” 

“The club since we’ve been here have been amazing with me, Sarah and Florence our baby. 

“As soon as that happened they’ve been fully supporting us, helping us out where they can,” he added. 

A Givealittle page was created last month to help support Sarah’s treatment. 

The page says: “There is no doubt Sarah, Blair and Flo will need all our support over the medium to long term. Being in another country with limited family support is going to be a challenge enough and then there will no doubt be other challenges as they work through the treatment and recovery Sarah will require. 

“All funds raised will go towards helping in a range of areas where support can’t be met elsewhere, including family travel, accommodation and some healthcare costs. 

“This will be a long battle for the family which the money that is raised will assist greatly in the months ahead. Sarah is so incredibly strong and we have no doubt she will get through this but our support is needed to make this battle a little easier on them. 

“Sarah and Blair are known for putting smiles on our faces in the HB community in everything they do, now it’s our turn to try and support them through this tough time.” 

A goal of $25,000 has been reached. 

Blair and Sarah are well known in Hawke’s Bay, being owners and operators of the 13th Stag cafe at the Mitre 10 Sports Park between Hastings and Napier. 

The pair arrived in England last month with nine-month-old daughter Flo. Blair marked his Derbyshire debut 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,” he said. 

He spoke about what he thought his first test would look like, the dream of seeing 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 collecting 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.