DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CMC) — Captain Stafanie Taylor says the build-up to next year’s International Cricket Council 50-overs World Cup in England will be an important one for West Indies Women as they seek to make an impact at the showpiece.

The Jamaican was speaking after it was confirmed that the Caribbean girls had clinched the last automatic qualifying spot for the June 26 to July 23, 2017 tournament by finishing fourth in the ICC Women’s championship (IWC).

West Indies Women’s best finish at a 50-overs World Cup came at the last event in India in 2013 when they reached the final before losing.

“Looking ahead to the World Cup, we would really like to get in a few matches against a couple of other teams and preferably in England, where we will be playing the World Cup,” Taylor said.

“We are also hoping we can spend some time together as a unit. I believe in our team and I believe each of our players has what it takes to take a game away from any opponent, so it’s just about getting them to believe in themselves and their abilities, getting everyone on the same page and clicking when the time is right.”

West Indies Women led the Championship at one stage, but found themselves in danger of missing out on a top four place when they lost two of three games to England Women in the Caribbean last month, and then suffered a 3-0 whitewash to India Women earlier this month.

However, India Women were penalised for not scheduling a three-match series against bitter rivals Pakistan Women, handing West Indies Women fourth place in the Championship.

Taylor, the world’s second-ranked batsman, said the batting department had been a source of worry for her side in recent times and needed to be improved in time for the World Cup.

“The world is well aware of the capability of our batting, and I believe in our players to perform on any given day, but we remain a lot less consistent than we would like,” she noted.

“All the teams are steadily improving under the IWC format, so we need to have more team performances.”

Australia Women were comfortable winners of the Championship, finishing on 36 points ahead of second-placed England Women on 29 and New Zealand Women on 26.

West Indies Women ended on 22 points, three ahead of India Women who were poised to overtake them prior to being slapped with the ICC penalty.

Taylor praised the Women’s Championship, pointing out that it had provided the ideal opportunity for the smaller teams in the international game to develop.

“I think the IWC was just what women’s cricket needed. For a long time the lower-ranked teams rarely met teams like Australia and England for a series, and that obviously affected their development,” she noted.

“With the structure of the IWC though, where everyone plays everyone, it gives all the teams and individual players the opportunity to develop equally, playing against the better teams.

“It has forced us and everybody else to raise their game and has improved the standard of women’s cricket in general over the past two years.”