NORTHAMPTON, England (CMC):

West Indies Women are banking on the arrival of the top-rated batsman Stafanie Taylor to change their wretched fortunes in the five-match Twenty20 series against England.

Without the world Number One batsman, the Caribbean side lost the two opening matches, going down by eight wickets in the first match last Saturday before losing the second by 28 runs on Monday.

Taylor, who stayed behind in her native Jamaica to complete exams, will join the squad for the crucial third T20 on Thursday and head coach Sherwin Campbell is hoping she makes an impact.

top all-rounder

"Obviously, she is the top all-rounder in the world, and she will help to a huge difference to the team," he said.

"We do not want to use her absence as an excuse because the other players need to step up. But she will add a bit more to both our batting and bowling."

Taylor is an attacking opener who is coming off a purple patch of form in the recently staged WICB Women's Regional T20 Championship where she amassed 409 runs at an average of 81.

struggled

She also bowls stifling off spin which will be an asset to a West Indies attack that has struggled against a powerful England batting line-up.

Following the opening defeats, Campbell acknowledged the long road ahead of West Indies but backed them to hit back.

"It's going to be a big challenge obviously. But they are very confident in their ability to bounce back and to win this match," the former West Indies opener said.

"They have been working very hard over the last few days and they have a good feeling about the match."

He said the fickle English weather had been a major bugbear for the team, and urged his side to adapt to the different conditions.

"It's always difficult getting used to the conditions here in England. The pitches and the weather conditions are quite different to what they know at home," Campbell said.