New Zealand's World Cup-winning CLEAR White Ferns return to the scene of their triumph, Bert Sutcliffe Oval, this weekend to continue the re-building phase the side has undergone.

With 20 One-Day Internationals and a Test match against India during the next eight months, not to forget the status of world champion to be defended, there is a programme as full as any in a non-World Cup year for the New Zealanders.

The three-day camp will be the fourth of the winter and will concentrate on the game plans to be employed on New Zealand's tour to India in November-December.

The prospect of playing on pitches, lower, slower and grassless, will see conditions simulated at the High Performance Centre, much as they were before New Zealand's A team went to India last year.

Coach Mike Shrimpton also has to unravel some historical batting strategies.

For generations it seems New Zealand's women players have been discouraged from playing the sweep shot to spinners.

"It hasn't been encouraged in the past. It seems to have been considered a dangerous, and high-risk, shot.

"But in the modern game you have to break up fields and we need to be able to create more leg-side scoring opportunities so that we can score all around the wicket," Shrimpton said.

Players have been on individual build-up programmes for the tour and at the weekend emphasis will be on players using their feet to create the length of the bowling and on that troublesome sweep shot.

There had been something of a lull for players after their CricInfo World Cup euphoria. Several players had gone straight into the domestic State Insurance Cup competition and had taken time to perform to their best.

Shrimpton, who worked the squad very hard last winter, especially on fielding skills which ultimately proved the difference in New Zealand's Cup bid, said he recognised that the commitment over the winter had resulted in some mental tiredness once the job had been done.

"We did ask a lot of them in the build-up and it was very demanding. But they have had a sizeable break to freshen up," he said.

Only Haidee Tiffen and Paula Flannery have been overseas during the winter. Tiffen has been playing in England and Flannery coaching in Switzerland.

The other vital reason for New Zealand putting so much into their preparation is replacing players like Debbie Hockley, Catherine Campbell, Katrina Keenan and Clare Nicholson, who are all no longer available for the national side.

Wellington's Anna Corbin, and Central Districts' Aimee Mason and Erin McDonald are the contenders to fill the spinning berths and Shrimpton is delighted with the work they have been putting in. McDonald has been attempting to straighten out her bowling action which was called into question during the World Cup.

Shrimpton said they offer complementary skills, with Mason especially having some quality batting skills.

The side which leaves on November 22 has three warm-up matches in India, and then faces India in five ODIs and a four-day Test at Jamshedphur before returning to New Zealand on December 23.

A home and away series with Australia will then be played while in June-July next year there is an ODI tour to the Netherlands, England and Ireland.

"We've gone from a famine to a feast," Shrimpton said of the programme the White Ferns now enjoy.

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd