In the ongoing multi-format series between India and South Africa, Laura Wolvaardt’s 61 in the 3rd and final ODI helped the Proteas post a fighting total of 215.
Following her half-century against India, she became the fastest batter to achieve 40 scores of 50+ runs in One Day Internationals. The current Proteas batter smashed an unbeaten 135 in her previous innings against India in the second ODI, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a losing cause. She completed a landmark of 4,000 ODI runs in previous matches, becoming the youngest batter to do so, as well as the first South African to achieve this feat.
Since her debut, she has consistently performed for her national side, accumulating runs with her elegance and poise. The South African opener made her debut in February 2016 against England, having been catapulted into the national side aged just 16.
Against Ireland in July 2016, she became the youngest ever centurion for South Africa, male or female, to score an international century. Laura Wolvaardt scored her first half-century in ODIs in the third ODI against England, which was her debut series. She scored 55 in that match, marking her first fifty. But who would have thought back then that she would be leading South Africa and be one of the mainstays in the batting department across formats. It was in September 2023, before the series against Pakistan, that Laura Wolvaardt was announced as the Proteas’ all-format skipper.
Laura has had a phenomenal year in 2024, having already scored more than 500 runs in ODIs. She has scored three centuries in her last five ODI innings, with two of her centuries coming in their home series against Sri Lanka in the three-match series. On both occasions, she went unbeaten with scores of 110 and an astonishing 184. She averages a staggering 247 in her last five ODI innings.
Fastest woman to make 40 scores of 50+ runs in ODIs:
Laura Wolvaardt – 97 innings (South Africa)
Stafanie Taylor – 121 innings (West Indies)
Karen Rolton – 128 innings (Australia)
Mithali Raj – 132 innings (India)
Charlotte Edwards -136 innings (England)
Suzie Bates – 136 innings (New Zealand)