Black Caps bowler Blair Tickner is used to doing things in threes. It was an impressive hat-trick for the Central Stags in 2017 that first put him in the sporting spotlight, but the trio of events that have unfolded for him over the past year casts even that achievement in the shade.
First came marriage, then his New Zealand test debut against England in mid-February and now, saving the best till last, he and wife Sarah will welcome a baby girl in a few weeks.
“I grew up in a big family of six kids, so this is something I’ve always wanted and I’m really ready for it,” says Blair, 29, as he cuddles Sarah, 32, in the nursery of