Stafanie Taylor will be the cynosure of all eyes as she plays a part for the West Indies in the side's upcoming five-match ODI series against South Africa, which bowls off today in Basseterre, St Kitts.

The series is the last international engagement for both West Indies and South Africa before the ICC Women's World Cup 2013 gets under way in Mumbai. While West Indies are drawn in Group A alongside England, India and Sri Lanka; South Africa are in Group B alongside Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan in the showpiece event scheduled to be held from January 31 to February 17.

Taylor is currently placed second on the Reliance ICC Women's Player Rankings for ODI batters. The 21-year-old West Indies batter trails number-one ranked India captain Mithali Raj by 30 ratings points at 737.

Opportunity for Taylor

The five-match series against South Africa offers Taylor an opportunity to close the gap between herself and India's captain. The other batters within the top 20 to be seen in action during the series include Deandra Dottin (12th) and Merissa Aguilleira (13th) of the West Indies and South Africa's Trisha Chetty (16th) and former captain Cri-Zelda Brits (20th), all of whom will be hoping to make inroads on the rankings table.

Taylor also tops the Reliance ICC Women's Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders and will have a chance to further strengthen her hold of the position during the series. Australia's Lisa Sthalekar is currently ranked second on the table.

Taylor is also ranked seventh on the Reliance ICC Women's Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, showing how strong a player the current ICC Women's ODI Player of the Year is and the upcoming series, along with the ICC Women's World Cup 2013, will prove an ideal opportunity for the Jamaican to cement her places in the various tables she features.

Players who appear in the top 20 of the bowlers' table who will be playing in the upcoming series in St Kitts and Dominica, include the South African pair of Sunette Loubser (14th) and Shibnam Ismail (18th), as well as Taylor's West Indies team-mate Shakera Selman (19th).

- ICC Media

Fixtures

7 Jan - First ODI, Basseterre

9 Jan - Second ODI, Basseterre

12 Jan - Third ODI, Roseau

13 Jan - Fourth ODI, Roseau

15 Jan - Fifth ODI, Roseau