New Zealand's leading women cricketers got a taste of the sort of conditions they can expect during the CricInfo Women's World Cup during their trial matches at Lincoln Green at the weekend.

Temperatures around the mid-20s and on Saturday, a stiff nor'wester, made life difficult for the bowlers especially.

Selection convener Lesley Murdoch said the selection job has been extremely difficult, a point obvious from the decision to increase the number of players in the New Zealand team from 14 to 15.

The CLEAR White Ferns are to be named in Christchurch on Tuesday.

"All the players would have benefited from the weekend," Murdoch said.

"It has been a very difficult job. Eileen Badham, who has been selecting teams for most of the 1990s, said she had never had a harder job in choosing a side.

"That is good for New Zealand cricket and it would have been easier if we had only had to name 12," she said.

In Saturday's game Emily Drumm's Possibles side scored 245-5. Kate Pulford and Anna O'Leary had an opening partnership of 96 before Pulford was out for 56. O'Leary went on to score 80.

Drumm scored 40 while one of the development players brought in to join the 18-strong squad for the trials, Megan Kane, hit 21 not out off 15 balls. Rachel Pullar took 1-21, Munokoa Tunupopo took 1-45 and Kathryn Ramel 1-22 off six overs.

In reply Ramel's Probables team was dismissed for 174. Paula Flannery scored 40 not out while Rachael Pullar hit 53 off 47 balls. Catherine Campbell took 3-25 from seven overs and in a welcome return to form Clare Nicholson took 3-27 from her 10 overs.

It was Nicholson's first game after 18 months absence caused by shoulder reconstruction surgery. Natalie Scripps took 2-31 from seven overs while Katrina Keenan had 1-24 from nine overs.

With the Probables batting first today, they scored 216-5. Flannery backed up with 61 while Ramel scored 57 and together put on 98 for the third wicket.

Helen Watson scored 50 not out from 45 balls.

The Possibles replied with 188. O'Leary scored 31, Keenan 37 and Campbell scored 42 not out. Paula Gruber took 2-35 from 10 overs while Hockley, who was out for 1 and 2 in her two innings, out both times to Keenan's bowling, took 2-30.

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