INTERVIEW
Follow UsAs a five-year-old, Laura Wolvaardt didn’t know women’s cricket existed.
For her, it was only a way of enjoying her life with her friends, who were mostly boys. But in the next six years, that sport, which was only a recreational activity, started to become far more serious in her life.
Before she realised her talent was top-level at 11, the Western Province did not waste time getting her into the U-19 setup. Since then, Wolvaardt hasn’t looked back, amassing runs wherever she went, including tons of the highest order at that level. Her talent was so prolific that the senior team took note of her talent within just two years.
While she continued to ace all her examinations and have a firm focus on pursuing medical science, one of the most challenging subjects in the world, cricket became even more significant when she made her ODI debut against one of the big dogs, England, when she was just 16.
Within months of debut, she broke all the run-scoring charts, becoming the youngest-ever South African batter (men's or women’s) to score an ODI century. Nine years from there, Laura Wolvaardt is probably facing the biggest challenge of her cricketing career to date - the pressure of leading the Proteas side in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“It's [captaincy] been a very exciting challenge. I've learnt a lot about myself as a cricketer and as a person. Had to learn a lot straight from the get-go,” Wolvaardt said from South Africa’s camp in Dubai.
“I think just learning a lot about bowling plans and normally just being about it myself. Have a lot more on my plate now and think about the game from different angles. But it has taught me a lot as a cricketer. It has been a good journey (till now),” she added.
Wolvaardt goes into every training session only thinking about lifting that T20 World Cup title, which has the innate potential to raise the mood and be a fairytale story for the country’s success in cricket, men’s or women’s.
Until that happens, there’s no chance the 25-year-old from Cape Town will be breathing any easier.
“At the end of the day, as a cricketer, you want to win games for your country. It is such an honour to be playing for the country in every single game. Just trying to do the best that I can to win games. Obviously, winning a World Cup is sort of the ultimate goal.”
“So I think you sort of have that in the back of your mind every single training session that you do: You want to be better for the team and, hopefully, put yourself in a position to win a World Cup one day.”
In all fairness, though, Wolvaardt already had a balanced outfit right before her, as Sune Luus, the former skipper, already put up a strong side with the help of Hilton Moreeng, a legendary figure in South African women’s cricketing growth.
“Yeah, [it is] just continuing good work. I think as soon as I took over [from Luus], we sort of came off a very successful World Cup campaign earlier in that year. So, obviously, we were heading in the right direction,” Wolvaardt explained her captaincy approach.
Read: Sune Luus: Became an off-spinner to give the team some balance
“It was nice that there were a couple of senior players in the side at the time who could sort of guide me and help me in the captaincy and learn a lot on the job. And yeah, I think it's going well so far.”
Much of Wolvaardt’s batting game is built on sticking to the basics of batting: timing of the ball, so much so that there are multiple compilations of her cover drive all over YouTube. But her strike rate in T20s was still hovering around the 98-100 range, not enough to even make it to the top 50 openers (in terms of strike rate).
But then, over the last two years, Wolvaardt has consciously worked on her power-hitting game and has hit the right notes, with a strike rate of 130.1 in 2024 (all T20s), unprecedented from her game before.
So, what kicked it off?
“Yeah, it's [power-hitting] been a work in progress for the last couple of years. I think that was probably the thing that I lacked was the power hitting when I first came into international cricket. So I had to do a lot of work on it. Still improving my own game in the powerplay, can still do better and take the game on a bit more,” Wolvaardt said.
“I think, obviously my game is built on more classical, basic technique type of stuff. So, I’m just finding the balance between still keeping that going and not trying too hard and losing my shape.”
It was visible during South Africa’s tour to India, where the opener struck at 148.83, taking the attack to one of the best bowling units in the shape of India. She kept up the good work against Pakistan, too, where her strike rate was close to 130. The fact that she’s had multiple good series in Asian conditions before the T20 World Cup would be a blessing in disguise for the national team.
Playing in Asian conditions is especially true for preparations and adjusting to the hot and humid conditions in the United Arab Emirates, where the teams will play the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“Super vital. Perfect preparation. I think Pakistan was the perfect preparation right before the World Cup. It has the same weather conditions, and it seems like similar batting conditions and field setups as well. It was great to be in the subcontinent before the World Cup,” she said of the preparation.
“I think that will probably be a common theme here. There will be a lot of spin, and it's good that we have had a lot of that in recent times.”
South Africa and England would breathe far easier than India, Australia, Sri Lanka, or New Zealand. They are in a group where the competition isn’t as daunting. But the Proteas have a bigger challenge, which has helped them breathe quite easily at the ICC tournaments for the longest time: Shabnim Ismail.
The speedster announced her retirement earlier this year in quite a shocking manner, leaving the likes of Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka and Nadine de Klerk to shoulder more responsibilities with the ball.
“Yeah, obviously our first time [ICC event] without Shabnim [Ismail]. It is obviously a massive loss for us, she usually provides that X-factor with the ball. She gives us that extra pace and that start we wanted. Having said that, we have a lot of young bowlers coming through. We are just going to have to manage that well without her. I’m sure that it presents an awesome opportunity for someone else to step up,” she had to say.
Kapp, in particular, could be the make-or-break player for South Africa's chances of making it through the competition's knockout stages. She’s had a terrific year with the bat, with 595 runs thus far, averaging a staggering 33 and striking at 137.1.
When not with the bat, Kapp’s bowling, especially new-ball bowling, has broken the back of several batting units, with 16 wickets at an economy of 5.2 with the ball.
“She [Kapp] is so vital, I think she could obviously make any team in the world as just a batter or just a bowler. What she offers with both the bat and the ball is just absolutely incredible. And she's two players in one and probably the best in each format in one,” Wolvaardt spoke highly of Kapp’s influence.
Alongside the experience of Kapp, Khaka and Nonkululeko Mlaba, the Proteas have welcomed the leg-spinning sensational, Seshnie Naidu. She’s just one series old, but her influence on their win in Pakistan has already been profound.
Not only does she possess the skillset to ace the leg spin test, but she also has the willow ability to make a difference towards the end. Such combinations are quite rare in women’s cricket and even more so in the country.
“Very excited, obviously, she [Naidu] got a few games back in Pakistan, and her debut was amazing. She’s got a lot of confidence for a youngster. I’ve really enjoyed watching her bowl, she’s got a lot of control as a young leg spinner. It’s been awesome having her in the setup,” Wolvaardt said.
“I think she's going to have a very successful future. It will just be about ensuring that she gets proper game time and enough experience.”
Off the cricketing field, though, be rest assured to find Wolvaardt either at a golf course, sharpening her swing to cleanly make a good connection with the Callaway (a brand of golf ball). But if you don’t find her there, Wolvaardt is locked up in her room, thanks to UAE’s hospitable hot and humid weather.
Or, maybe she’s just busy sharpening her captaincy skills to help South Africa pass that final hurdle to write history. Oppositions, be scared.
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