South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt enjoyed a memorable evening at the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Awards, winning three major honours after another excellent year with both bat and captaincy. Wolvaardt was named CSA Women’s Player of the Year, Women’s ODI Player of the Year, and Women’s Players’ Player of the Year, completing a clean sweep of the top women’s international awards.
The awards recognised her outstanding performances across both ODI and T20I cricket, where she scored heavily and continued to lead South Africa with confidence. One of the biggest highlights of her season came during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, where she played a key role in helping South Africa reach the final.
In the semi-final against England in Guwahati, Wolvaardt produced one of the finest innings of her career, scoring a brilliant 169 from 143 balls. She controlled the innings from start to finish and helped South Africa post a winning total before they secured their place in the World Cup final.
Just five days later, she once again delivered on the biggest stage. Facing India in the World Cup final in Navi Mumbai, Wolvaardt scored a superb 101 from 98 balls. She kept South Africa in the contest with another excellent century, but India eventually won the match to lift the trophy.
Although South Africa finished as runners-up, Wolvaardt’s performances throughout the tournament earned praise from around the cricket world. Her excellent form did not stop after the World Cup.
During the award period, Wolvaardt scored five ODI centuries. Along with her hundreds against England and India during the World Cup, she also made a century against Pakistan in Lahore in September before scoring two more centuries against Ireland at home in December.
She was equally impressive in T20 Internationals. Wolvaardt registered two T20I centuries, first scoring 115 from just 53 balls against India at the Wanderers before making an unbeaten 115 from 56 deliveries against Ireland at Newlands. These performances helped her win both the Women’s ODI Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year awards.
Throughout the year, Wolvaardt continued to show why she is regarded as one of the best batters in women’s cricket. Her calm approach, excellent technique and ability to build big innings made her South Africa’s most dependable batter in every format. Whether her team needed a quick start or someone to bat through the innings, she regularly delivered.
As captain, she also continued to lead by example. Wolvaardt’s leadership helped South Africa remain one of the strongest teams in women’s cricket, while her performances with the bat gave the team confidence in important matches.
Her contribution was also recognised by her teammates, who voted her as the South Africa Women’s Players’ Player of the Year, showing the respect she has earned inside the dressing room. Winning CSA Women’s Player of the Year was the perfect reward for a season filled with outstanding performances.
Her unforgettable 169 against England in the World Cup semi-final remains one of the best innings of her career, while her fighting 101 against India in the final once again showed her ability to perform under pressure. Combined with five ODI centuries, two T20I hundreds, and consistent performances throughout the season, Wolvaardt fully deserved all three awards.
The clean sweep at the CSA Awards once again confirmed Laura Wolvaardt’s place among the world’s leading batters and highlighted another outstanding year for the South African captain, who continues to set high standards with both her batting and leadership.
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