Dubai: India captain Mithali Raj and England captain Charlotte Edwards are both eyeing number-one ranking in the Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Rankings for batters which is currently held by West Indies all-rounder Stafanie Taylor.

Host England takes on India in a five-match ODI series which begins tomorrow (Sunday) at Lord’s as the world’s number-one ranked women’s team and the holder of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup faces the world’s third best women’s team.

India opener Mithali, who currently sits in second position, is just 48 ratings points behind the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2011, Taylor, while third-ranked Edwards is another 10 points behind her Indian counterpart. A good series by either top-order batter could shake the top of the table.

Edwards’ team-mates Lydia Greenway (fourth) and Sarah Taylor (fifth) will also be hoping for rises in the rankings, while India’s vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur is currently ranked 15th while Poonam Raut also has a chance to rise from 28th place and break into the top 20 for the first time.

In the Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Rankings for bowlers, which is topped by Australia’s Lisa Sthalekar followed by team-mate Ellyse Perry, both England’s Katherine Brunt and India’s Jhulan Goswami have an opportunity to close the gap between the Australia duo.

Brunt, who last played an ODI for England in October 2011, is currently 85 ratings points behind table-topper Sthalekar. Playing in home conditions could prove to be advantageous to the 26-year-old Brunt’s bid to reclaim the number-one spot which she last held on 21 October after her side’s match against South Africa.

Another former table-topper, Jhulan, will want to find her form again with the ball and take herself back to the top of the rankings which she last occupied back in January 2011.

The series also provides opportunities to England’s Laura Marsh (fifth), Jenny Gunn (eighth), Holly Colvin (13th) to make inroads in the rankings while India’s Gouther Sultana (10th) and Amita Sharma (16th) could also push for better positions in the bowling rankings.

In the Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for all-rounders, which is currently topped by Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies, there are opportunities for Amita (fifth), Jhulan (sixth), Gunn (seventh) and Marsh (eighth) to break into the top four places.
Upcoming ODI fixtures
1 July – England v India, Lord’s
4 July – England v India, Taunton
5 July – England v India, Taunton
8 July – England v India, Truro
11 July – England v India, Wormsley

Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Rankings (as of 30 June ahead of England v India ODI series)

Batters

Rank             Player         Team     Pts          Ave         HS Rating

1           Stafanie Taylor    WI          737         45.88     765 v Ind at St Kitts (WP) 2012
2           Mithali Raj           Ind          689         46.64     839 v Aus at Baroda Vadodar 2004
3           C Edwards            Eng         679         37.73     699 v NZ at Lincoln 2012
4           Lydia Greenway  Eng         664 !      30.88     664 v NZ at Lincoln 2012
5           Sarah Taylor        Eng         653         40.59     803 v Aus at Chelmsford 2009
6           Alex Blackwell     Aus         626         33.17     683 v Ind at Canberra 2008
7           Jessica Cameron  Aus         569*!    39.18     569 v Ind at Mumbai 2012
8           Deandra Dottin    WI          562         25.34     617 v Ind at St Kitts (WP) 2012
9           Meg Lanning        Aus         555*      40.70     568 v Ind at Mumbai 2012
10         A Satterthwaite    NZ          527 !      25.45     527 v Eng at Lincoln 2012
11         Sara McGlashan  NZ          514         22.83     573 v Eng at Derby 2007
12         M Aguilleira          WI          512 !      21.08     512 v SL at Winward Park 2012
13         Lisa Sthalekar      Aus         508         31.72     801 v Ind at Sydney 2008
14         Leah Poulton        Aus         504         25.87     529 v NZ at Sydney 2012
15         Harpreet Kaur      Ind          501*!    29.05     501 v Aus at Mumbai 2012
16         Trisha Chetty       SA           499        35.86     515 v Eng at Potchefstroom 2011
17         Cri-Zelda Brits      SA           492         31.45     565 v Net at Potchefstroom (N 2010
18         Suzie Bates           NZ          466         28.20     516 v Eng at Taunton 2007
19         Amita Sharma     Ind          461         17.06     505 v WI at St Kitts (WP) 2012
20         Lucy Doolan        NZ          445*      25.12     487 v Aus at Sydney 2012