Jensen credits WBBL for recent resurgence

New Zealand allrounder Hayley Jensen says she has the Rebel WBBL to thank for her revived international career, after playing alongside two White Ferns stars for the Renegades last summer.

Jensen was recalled by the White Ferns in March after an almost four-year absence and has since re-established herself in the New Zealand set-up, accepting a national contract for 2018-19.

Before that, her nine T20I and four ODI appearances in the black and white all came in 2014. 

While her international career was on hiatus, Jensen was living and playing as a local player in Australia, appearing both in the Women's Big Bash and in the 50-over domestic Women's National Cricket League.

Originally playing for Victoria in the WNCL, Jensen made the move to the ACT Meteors in 2017, while she played for Melbourne Stars in the first two WBBL seasons before a shift to cross-town rivals Renegades for WBBL|03.

It was there that Jensen believes she caught the eye of White Ferns selectors.

"I had the luxury of having Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu playing on the same team as me, so I guess the New Zealand selectors were looking at them a little bit," Jensen told cricket.com.au.

"And then I guess I popped up in there and had a few good games and they gave me a ring."

Despite her time away from the international fold, Jensen's time playing against the world's best in the WBBL meant it was an easier transition back to the top level.

"Playing against all the Australian players, they've got such a good system over here, it's really challenging and it's really helped my game grow quite a lot," she said. "(It's had) a big influence."

The call from selectors did leave Jensen facing a big decision, as a return to international cricket would mean she could no longer play in the WBBL or WNCL as a local player and she would need to rely on earning a marquee player contract.

"It was quite a big decision, but playing for your country – there's nothing better than that and travelling around the world playing against different teams and the world's best players," she explained.

"So that was a big thing for me, I wanted to keep growing my game." 

The 25-year-old is currently in very familiar territory after arriving in Canberra with her teammates on Tuesday for Friday's third and final match of the Commonwealth Bank Women's T20I Series, where she'll hope to make the most of her experience with the Meteors at Manuka Oval.

Jensen is also enjoying the distinctly Renegades flavour of this trans-Tasman series; lining up with Tahuhu and Satterthwaite against the Australian trio of Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck, all recent additions to the Southern Stars' set-up. 

"Big congrats to them, they've done so well and I'm really stoked for those young girls to get the opportunity to play for the Southern Stars," Jensen said. "It's going to be a pretty good rivalry for us."

Following Friday's match, Jensen and her New Zealand teammates will continue their preparations for the World T20 in the Caribbean next month.

It's a position the allrounder never expected to be in, but she's relishing the thought of appearing in another ICC tournament after being part of the 2014 event in Bangladesh

"It's always awesome to play in the World T20 tournaments, with all the best players playing at the same grounds," she said.

"It's going to be awesome to go over there and play against the world's best and hopefully we can give it a crack."

CommBank T20 INTLs v NZ 

September 29: First T20I, North Sydney Oval, Sydney

October 1: Second T20I, Allan Border Field, Brisbane

October 5: Third T20I, Manuka Oval, Canberra

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

New Zealand squad: Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sophie Devine, Kate Ebrahim, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Katey Martin, Amy Satterthwaite (c), Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin