"The tattoos are new on my arm," says New Zealand fast bowler Blair Tickner. "We got married at Kōtare Estate, which is Maori for Kingfisher. So there are two of them, to represent Sarah and I."
It is possible that Tickner, a late injury-replacement for Kyle Jamieson, will feature in neither of the final ODIs against England.
But that would be to miss the point of a return to the international stage for a man, and family, who have been through more in the last two-and-a-half years than most could imagine.
In February 2023, days after making his Test debut, Tickner gave a tearful press conference on the outfield at Wellington after news that Cyclone Gabrielle had destroyed his father's home in Hawke's Bay. A year later, in the moments before a County Championship game for Derbyshire, he got a call from his wife, Sarah, that she had been diagnosed with leukaemia.
After rushing to hospital, Tickner assumed he had been removed from the match, only to find out later in the day when he returned to the ground to collect his car that he was still, technically, playing. Despite a ball not having been bowled when he left the ground, and their opponents, Sussex, happy for Derbyshire to substitute Tickner out, ECB regulations dictated it wasn't allowed as the toss had already been made. In a blur, Tickner finished the day in the middle. He made 47, the highest score of his career.
"I had to play that game knowing my wife had leukaemia," Tickner recalls. "I was going back and forth from the hospital."
That was the past, however, and his return to the Black Caps is cause for celebration on all accounts. His father's home and the surrounding area has been rebuilt and is back to normal, and most importantly, Sarah is in remission. She's still undergoing monthly chemotherapy, but in Tickner's words, "we're in the good stage now."
"She's a strong woman," he says. "We're just so happy to be back in New Zealand and that she's healthy."
Tickner's last game for New Zealand was over two years ago. At 32 years old, it was a time he had assumed had passed. Which was fine. He'd even told the selectors not to bother calling him unless it was to pick him. He didn't need check-ins.
But as is so often the case, when the sport became a distraction rather than a fixation, his performances surged. He was Central Stag's Player of the Season in 2024-25; he was the leading wicket-taker in the Super Smash, which they won, and he was challenging at the top of the leaderboard in the Ford Trophy too.
And so the selectors did call. Tickner was with Sarah's family when the moment arrived.
"I didn't actually say anything for ten minutes," he says. "Because I didn't really know what to say. They'd gone through everything with us. They'd been so amazing when Sarah got diagnosed and even flew over to England to help us out. It was sort of for them, really."
There will be another bonus if Tickner does take to the field. His last match for the Black Caps was April 2023, and his and Sarah's daughter, Florence, was born in August. Only two years old, she is too young to understand any of what's happened, but old enough for one of her hairbands to be around Tickner's wrist.
"My little one's never seen me play for New Zealand," Tickner says. "So it's a real special time for our family."
His return to the Kiwi squad has been a popular one. Domestic cricketers in New Zealand, as Tickner is, are only contracted for eight months of the year. This means that, for the four months of the off-season, they have to either source overseas deals, or find alternative means of employment. Tickner does both.
Derbyshire welcomed him back for the 2025 season in what was an emotional return: "I owe a lot to them for their help through a hard time." He also runs a cafe in Hawke's Bay called the 13th Stag and has started to turn his hand to coaching through a NZ company called Coach Squad as well.
'That's just normal for us New Zealanders," he explains.
It is symptomatic of how, when the goalposts of life change, so too does your perception of fortune. For a man who has every reason to consider himself unlucky - "I feel like it follows our family around really" - Tickner is now in a position to appreciate everything he has.
"I think cricketers probably don't understand how lucky they are," he says. "Last season that's all I wanted to do. Just make sure I was playing the game that I love, and enjoy everything.
"The last time I was here, it was a lot of pressure and I was playing for my place a lot, so I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.
"This time, though, I didn't expect it. I might get picked for this series and never again. So there'll always be a smile on my face."
And whether he gets on the pitch or not, he'll have the full support of his wife and child in the stands, and his father back home. And that's all that matters.