The Proteas’ captain Laura Wolvaardt has expressed her eagerness to get South Africa’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 campaign underway as the team prepares for their opening encounter against England in Guwahati on October 3 with the clash set to take place at the ACA Stadium.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Wolvaardt underlined the excitement within the squad as they face a familiar foe. “Very excited to get going. England are a very strong side, but we really enjoy playing against them in World Cups.
They’ve beaten us in the semi-finals in the last two editions of this tournament, so we’re really keen to look to get a good start against them. Being able to beat a team like that early on really sets the tone for the competition. We’ve got a really strong group of players here, we’ve prepared well, and we’re really looking forward to the game,” the skipper added.
While South Africa has struggled to cross the semi-final hurdle against England in recent editions (2017 and 2022), Wolvaardt believes her side has the tools to flip the script.
“It’s a bit of a tricky one because I feel like we’ve beaten them in the group stages in the past World Cups and then lots of them in the semifinal. So, we know as a group, we can beat them, especially in the group stages. I think we know that if we play our best cricket, we can beat any side in the world.
“We’ve played some good cricket recently. We’ve been batting really well. We’ve been bowling better and better. I think all of us know that if we really stick to our plans and are really clear with what we want to do, that we can beat them,” she replied with certainty.
Much like the opening game between India and Sri Lanka at the same venue, rain has been forecast for the October 3 clash. Wolvaardt emphasized that adaptability will be crucial.
“Obviously there’s a lot of rain around, and we’re going to have to be as adaptable as we can… So, we’ll just have to be able to adapt in the game and to whatever comes at us.”
The Women’s World Cup in India has already drawn record crowds, with over 22,000 fans turning up for the opening match, a testament to the rapid growth of the women’s game.
“Hopefully very big for the game. The women’s game has grown incredibly in the last couple of years. It feels like the pinnacle of all of that, having a massive World Cup in India where the game has absolutely blown up in the last couple of years.
“There are a lot of really good subcontinent sides here that have a lot of good spinners. It brings everyone onto a more level playing field, so it should be really tightly contested and watched all around the world,” Wolvaardt concluded.
For South Africa, this campaign is not just about starting well, it’s about finishing strong. The Proteas Women have reached multiple knockouts at ICC tournaments in the last decade but are still chasing their first world title.
Just like the men’s team has redefined itself, winning the World Test Championship, is it time for the women’s team to also cross the finishing line.
“Yeah, obviously, the men winning that World Test Championship is awesome. It’s been amazing to see how the country has supported them and how excited everyone was back at home and united to support them in that trophy. So, yeah, hopefully we have the chance to do something similar to really get the country behind us in this tournament. And, yeah, hopefully we can do something special,” said Wolvaardt.
With Wolvaardt at the helm and a group of players brimming with both youth and experience, South Africa enters this World Cup with quiet confidence. Their first step comes against England, a team that has been their stumbling block in the past, but perhaps, this time, could be their steppingstone.
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