Nic Faltum on her call-up to the Australia squad for the tour of New Zealand

Nic Faltum, who has always dreamt of being an Australian cricketer, opens up on her call-up to the Aussies’ tour of New Zealand.

The Melbourne Renegades’ WBBL title ignited something in Australia’s newest squad member Nic Faltum.

Faltum was already amid a career-best summer but the triumph poured fuel on her love for the game and her desire to play at the highest level.

Her top form continued and she was last week announced as part of Australia’s tour of New Zealand later this month.

“I have been working pretty hard on my game, to be honest, it’s so funny when it all clicks, but I am absolutely loving playing at the moment,” Faltum, 25, said.

“I am enjoying my cricket, being in and amongst it and I think, like you said, it’s showing in my end results.

“Winning the WBBL was an amazing achievement, definitely one of the highlights of my career thus far, but I think that sparked something as well.

“More enjoyment, more pure love for the game and I am getting really hungry to contribute to the teams I play in to get more success.”

Nic Faltum is Australia’s newest squad member. Picture: Steve Bell/Getty Images

Faltum credits her golden summer, which has included a raft of half-centuries in both the WBBL and WNCL, to a tweak in her batting.

She’s thrown away the cautious approach and learnt to access different parts of the ground.

“T20 wasn’t really a strong suit of my game when I was coming through, I was probably more of a one-day player,” she said.

“I have worked pretty hard on my power hitting and boundary access. Our new batting coach Blake Reed at Victoria is quite big on the power-hitting stuff.

“We have been just experimenting really, seeing which areas of the ground I can access.”

Faltum, a wicketkeeper-bat, has come into the squad for injured captain Alyssa Healy.

She remains unlikely to play despite Healy’s injury, with the experienced Beth Mooney set to stand behind the stumps.

Not playing doesn’t upset Faltum, as she plans to be “a bit of a sponge” to her heroes-turned-teammates.

“I am so excited to be in and amongst the group. I will work alongside Moons who will take the gloves, hear what she’s got to say, learn off her,” she said.

Faltum credits her WBBL season with the Melbourne Renegades as an accelerant to her international desire. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“I will be a bit of a sponge, soak it all up and enjoy the week or so that will be.

“I played the last A series with T-Mac (Tahlia McGrath), she captained the last A series and is captain for this series, so there’s familiarity there.

“But I am so excited, basically all of them, it’s so cool. I have grown up watching these players on my screen, to be on a tour with them is so cool.

“I am genuinely so excited to get amongst it and hopefully provide some energy to the group, hopefully they enjoy me being around as much as I am going to.”

The Aussies tackle the Kiwis in three Twenty20s, starting March 21, in New Zealand.

Originally published as Nic Faltum on her call-up to the Australia squad for the tour of New Zealand