New Zealand's hopes at the CricInfo Women's World Cup starting in November will be carried by the CLEAR White Ferns.

That's the identity the team is sporting after a breakfast launch in Christchurch today.

The name acknowledges the tradition of women's cricket being played in whites, while the most impressive part of the traditional fern in the team logo is the application of a koru-like effect at the base of the fern.

Designer Andrew Gilmore, New Zealand Cricket's brand manager, said the effect represented the cultural connection but was also intended "to add softness and femininity" appropriate to the silver fern for the women's team.

It also combines the look of an unfurled fern and the matured product.

CLEAR White Ferns captain Emily Drumm was delighted with the name and logo.

"The players are thrilled with the name. It has a direct link with cricket through the reference to white, and most of the top New Zealand women's sports teams have decided to be associated with the national icon of the fern.

"Some of the senior players had an input to the selection and we are excited at the opportunities which having a brand name will provide."

An offshoot of the individual identity for the team will be as a marketing vehicle for women's cricket.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Christopher Doig said: "Women's and girls' cricket has experienced a tremendous increase in playing numbers over the past few years and we are now seeing that growth starting to result in higher standards of play."

Sponsors CLEAR are hopeful the women's brand name can catch on as quickly as the men's Black Caps name which is now widely recognised and is regarded as a textbook example of a successful partnership between a corporate sponsor and a sports body.

© CricInfo