South Africa entered their ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 opener in Guwahati with a reputation for strong partnerships and dependable all-rounders. However, the opening chapter of their campaign took a dramatic turn as England dismantled the Proteas in just 21 overs, bowling them out for a mere 69, South Africa’s third-lowest total in Women’s ODIs. What was expected to be a fierce contest turned into a one-sided display of England’s dominance with the ball.
The cricketing world still remembers the iconic 260-run stand between Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits, a symbol of South Africa’s batting prowess. But on this day, that partnership stood only as a reminder of what could have been. Instead, the innings crumbled with a series of single-digit partnerships and a flurry of wickets that silenced the Guwahati crowd.
Reflecting on the defeat, Wolvaardt admitted that England’s bowlers were simply outstanding.
“I think they did bowl very well; there was a lot of swing around early. Linsey Smith was excellent with the ball. I think it’s one of the days with the bat where top order failed and middle order failed on the same day. Not the ideal way to start the tournament but I do think that we have shown some resilience with the bat in the last 18 months, and I am sure we will bounce back and come back better in the rest of the competition,” she said.
When asked about her assessment of the pitch conditions, Wolvaardt dismissed the idea that the surface was to blame.
“I think our prep has been good, I don’t think there were too many demons in the pitch,” Wolvaardt said. “It was just one of those days where everyone went out early and that happens in cricket sometimes. It was not a pitch that we were super foreign to. We spent a lot of time in these conditions in the last couple of months, so definitely wouldn’t put it on the wicket.
“We are much, much better than 69 all out, just one of those days. As a group, we just need to put it behind us as quickly as we can and move forward, because if we’re going to take that into the next game, it’s going to be a very long tournament for us.”
England’s World Cup debutant Linsey Smith had a memorable day, claiming 3 of the top four wickets and triggering the collapse. For South Africa, it was a hauntingly familiar sight, just weeks ago, they were bundled out for 115 by Pakistan, with Nashra Sandhu taking 6 for 26.
Despite the statistical similarity, Wolvaardt was quick to draw a distinction between the two performances.
“Those were two quite different spinners. Smith was very good with her swing and her drift today, whereas Sandhu in that game got a lot of turn over the wicket. So very different conditions. In that Pakistan game, we probably didn’t adapt well to a turning wicket, probably a lot more turning than what we were used to, very out of our comfort zone conditions-wise, whereas today, it was just a total collapse. We just didn’t apply ourselves well enough with the bat,” she explained.
South Africa’s batting unit, traditionally anchored by its top order, has often been questioned for its lower-order inconsistency. But Wolvaardt was quick to defend her teammates.
“Our middle order has actually been better this year than they have ever been,” she said. “I think the likes of Sune (Luus), Marizanne (Kapp), Chloe (Tryon), (Annerie) Dercksen, who didn’t play today, have really been scoring a lot of runs throughout the past few series. I don’t think that we have any trouble in our middle order at the moment. It’s just one of those days where both top order and middle order didn’t fire.”
Despite the result, Wolvaardt stood by her preparation and mindset leading into the match.
“You can’t really fault our preparation. We tried to cover all bases at training. Yesterday, personally, I was super specific in my training,” Wolvaardt added.
“I had someone bowl like Lauren Bell would and I had the left-armer throwing at me. I had already planned which guard I would take and what my options were and what my strong options were. To have that soft dismissal was very disappointing with all the preparation that we had put in. Definitely not a lack of prep. We’ve been very well-informed by all of our coaches. It’s just one of those days where we played the wrong line for the ball swinging in.”
Wolvaardt also emphasized the importance of staying focused on the bigger picture.
“Definitely, I think this tournament is massive for us as a team. The opportunity that we have to possibly make the semifinals and win a tournament like this is absolutely amazing for all those young girls back at home to see us play on the global stage.
“Obviously not the way we would have liked to start. But, like I said, I think we need to park this game as quickly as we can. Each and every one of us knows we are much better than 69 all out. We Individually want to score more than 69,” Wolvaardt concluded at the post-match press conference.
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