Otago Sparks coach Nathan King has named a 23-strong combined Sparks and under-21 squad.
King has taken over the role from Warren Lees this season and will send New Zealand Cricket a list of ''13 or 14'' names closer to the start of the Sparks' campaign.
However, he is not planning on naming a specific Sparks squad and wants the group to work together.
''We looked at it at the start of the season and decided that was the best plan of attack,'' King said, adding there were six players who are based outside of Otago and they were unlikely to attend any training sessions.
There are two notable absences from the team list. All-rounder Victoria Holden has retired and Millie Cowan, who had a breakout season in the one-day competition, is unavailable this season.
Cowan scored her maiden century - a rollicking 105 from 85 balls against Northern Districts at the University Oval - and was the team's third leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps at an average of 24.90.
Both Cowan and Holden featured in the Otago team which beat Canterbury by five runs to win the twenty20 title last summer, so their departures will be felt.
The rest of the starting XI from the final has returned, headed by White Ferns captain Suzie Bates and fellow internationals Leigh Kasperek and Katey Martin.
The White Ferns left for the UAE earlier this week to play three ODIs and four twenty20s against Pakistan. The series gets under way on October 31 and wraps up on November 14-10 days before the Sparks' opening game of the season.
The trio should be in good touch, but Bates is playing in the Australian Big Bash again this summer and will miss the third and fourth rounds and possibly the fifth round.
English bowler Beth Langston will return for a second stint with the Sparks. The 25-year-old played four ODIs for England in November and also played two twenty20 games for her country in 2013.
She made an impact with the new ball for Otago, taking 13 wickets at an average of 23.76 in the one-day competition.
Former White Ferns spinner Morna Nielsen was not at her best in 2016-17 but the experienced left-armer remains a potent force with the ball.
Left-arm pace bowler Kate Heffernan made a big impression in her rookie season. She took four wickets in the twenty20 final and will be one to watch this season.
Her twin sister, Georgia, had injury problems but shone during the under-21 campaign and is another good prospect.
The likes of Caitlin Blakely, Megan Gibbs, Georgia Clarke and Polly Inglis have built up some experience, so King has a very decent group of players to call on.
''We've lost two players but other players will step up and we still have the core of a really strong team,'' King said.
''And there are some exciting young players coming through. Millie Cowan came out and scored 100 last year and I'd like to think that someone like a Caitlin Blakely or a Polly Inglis might be able to do something similar this season.''
