Hayley Jensen's family told her to "follow your heart" when she was weighing up her New Zealand White Ferns recall.
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So she did, and now the ACT Meteors pace bowler has retained her place in New Zealand's squad for the upcoming Twenty20 international series against Australia beginning at North Sydney Oval on September 29.
She might need to be directed to an unfamiliar dressing room come game three on October 5 - she will play against Australia on the ground she usually calls home at Manuka Oval.
Jensen has been living and playing in Australia long enough to be classified as a local player, but a White Ferns return in March changed her status to an international player and she earned a central contract for this season.
The 25-year-old feared a return to the New Zealand XI would make it harder to secure WBBL and WNCL contracts but she followed her heart and still managed to stay put with the Meteors.
Jensen has five one-day internationals and 16 Twenty20 international caps to her name since making her debut for New Zealand in 2014.
She shifted to the ACT from Victoria last season and she will have a huge role to play when the Meteors open their WNCL campaign against Tasmania at Allan Border Field on Friday.
TWENTY20 INTERNATIONAL SERIES
September 29: Australia v New Zealand at North Sydney Oval, 7.10pm. Tickets from Ticketek.
October 1: Australia v New Zealand at Allan Border Field, 2.10pm. Tickets from Ticketek.
October 5: Australia v New Zealand at Manuka Oval, 7.20pm. Tickets from Ticketek.
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.
ACT METEORS WNCL FIXTURE
September 21: ACT Meteors v Tasmania at Allan Border Field, 9.30am.
September 23: ACT Meteors v Queensland at Allan Border Field, 9.30am.
November 9: ACT Meteors v Victoria at Manuka Oval, 10am.
November 11: ACT Meteors v Western Australia at Manuka Oval, 10am.
February 16: ACT Meteors v NSW at Karen Rolton Oval (Adelaide), 10am.
February 18: ACT Meteors v South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval (Adelaide), 10am.
Click here for the full fixture.
