With just over a week to go before South Africa begin their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 campaign, confidence is running high within the South African camp. After a solid 2-1 ODI series win in Pakistan, skipper Laura Wolvaardt and her team believe they are in a strong position to improve upon their previous World Cup outings.
South Africa have been consistently competitive on the world stage in recent years, making it to the semi-finals of the last two ODI World Cups and finishing as runners-up in back-to-back ICC Women’s T20 World Cups.
Wolvaardt reflected on past experiences that shaped the team’s mindset, “I remember being part of that first semi-final loss in 2017 – it really hurt the group, but it helped us see that we could compete with the best sides in the world and qualifying for a one day final is more a question of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ it would ever happen. The belief is very strong in our side going into this tournament.”
Despite having a core of experienced players, Wolvaardt stressed the importance of staying grounded in the face of World Cup pressure, “The most important thing for us is to trust the process and take it one game at a time. You never want to get ahead of yourself – it’s a long tournament with lots of cricket, so staying present and focusing on ourselves is key.”
As the tournament will be hosted across India and Sri Lanka, Wolvaardt acknowledges the unique challenge of subcontinental conditions, “In subcontinent conditions, the local teams come into the game a lot more. We’ve lost to New Zealand in a World Cup final, and teams like Australia and England are always strong.”
In the lead-up to the World Cup, South Africa have played ten ODIs in 2025 so far, winning five. Opening batter Brits leads the run-scoring charts with 643 runs, including the highest of 171* against Pakistan during the second ODI in September. On the bowling front, Mlaba has been the standout performer with 15 wickets in eight matches, supported by Nadine de Klerk, who has claimed ten wickets in eight games.
South Africa have participated in every World Cup since 1997, reaching the last four in 2000, 2017, and 2022. This year, their mission is clear: go beyond the semi-finals and contend for their first-ever World Cup title.
To fine-tune their preparations, the team will play two warm-up matches – against New Zealand on 25th September and India on 28th September – before the tournament officially begins on 30th September.
(Quotes sourced from the ICC)
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