Laura Wolvaardt first wants you to know that she had “the best of conditions, won all the tosses, was able to chase under lights in the first four games and batted first today on a slow-ish wicket” before you look at her returns. Then, when you see she had four scores of fifty-plus – including one of over a hundred – in five innings across the series against India, you will know she could not have had it better.
And still, you’d be hard pressed to conclude that she is at anything other than her very best.
Wolvaardt has scored more runs than any other woman in a bilateral T20I series. In 13 innings this year, she has scored only 134 runs fewer than she did in 19 innings in 2024, and its only April. Already, she’s only 240 runs behind the overall record for most runs in a calendar year. With a T20 World Cup tournament and a home summer to come, there’s every reason to believe records will be rewritten the way she’s going. But Wolvaardt is keeping her feet on the ground.
“I am very happy with my form at the moment,” she said at the post-match press conference. “After a tough tour to New Zealand, it’s been really nice to turn it around. I can’t really tell you what’s changed that much. That’s the funny thing about cricket. In New Zealand, I was 9 of 16 [14] in the one game and today I’m batting quite a lot better and don’t really know why.”
But there are some reasons other than the ones of fortune she mentioned for the turnaround. The obvious one is that Wolvaardt has returned to the top of the order after being temporarily moved to No. 3 in New Zealand. In theory, there’s not much difference to opening the batting and being at one-drop, but in practice, having the best batter at the crease for as long as possible provides stability. Consider that South Africa had just one fifty-plus opening stand in five matches in New Zealand and two hundred-plus and one partnership of 75 in three matches here and that should be the proof you need. Wolvaardt should open. End of. South Africa know that. She should probably open with Sune Luus.
What they do from there is important because Tazmin Brits has no scores over 30 from her last seven innings and Anneke Bosch has none over 20 from her last six. Marizanne Kapp should be back to full health by the time June’s T20 World Cup comes around and can slot in high up with Annerie Dercksen, Kayla Reyneke. Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk to follow, South Africa have a powerhouse on paper. In reality, they also have an over-reliance on Wolvaardt, and she may know it.
“Maybe lacked a bit in the partnerships department,” she said of the fifth T20I in Benoni, where South Africa lost six wickets for 49 runs. But it is the case for the series as a whole. Across the five games, South Africa’s highest stand not involving Wolvaardt was 44 between Luus and Brits in the fourth game, which the hosts lost. Luus was the only other player to register an individual score of fifty-plus, and she did it twice, and their next highest run-scorer was Dercksen, who scored just 65 runs in four innings. The middle-order is a concern South Africa need to address before the World Cup.
Things look more settled in the bowling department. Even in Kapp’s absence, South Africa were able to take 34 wickets out of a possible 50, on surfaces where India’s attack managed only 22. Importantly, after taking the field first four times, they also showed they were able to defend a total, and a slightly under-par one in Benoni, which pleased Wolvaardt most. “I am very proud of how the bowlers went about it,” she said. “Our spinners were very good today. Chloe and Lefty [Nonkululekho Mlaba] were excellent in the way that we were able to keep them quiet in the first 10 overs. It looked like they were trying to force it through but just couldn’t and just more and more pressure built. And then when they finally had to go at the end, we held our nerve nicely.”
South Africa had India 51 for 3 at the halfway stage of the chase and pushed a required run-rate that started off at 7.80 an over up to over 10. It was difficult for India to get back into the game from there but with Richa Ghosh in the middle, anything was possible. Ghosh was dropped on four, which could have ended the game early, and with 11 drops in the series, it’s an area that needs polishing up. It was top of mind when she was asked about improvements that need to be made. “Probably just taking our catches,” she said. “Every game there’s been a catch or two going down, which is a little bit frustrating because we’ve created a lot of chances but haven’t necessarily taken them.”
South Africa have no more competitive cricket before the T20 World Cup that begins on June 12. They will open with a game against Australia in Manchester. India are in the same group and with only two teams from each pool advancing to the knockouts, it’s expected to be a bottleneck between these three but South Africa feel they know what to expect. ‘We’ve had perfect prep,” Wolvaardt said. “India are our group as well so this gives us a bit of momentum heading into the tournament and tells us there’s a lot we’re doing right. There’s still a few areas we can be a bit better in so I’m excited to work on that for the next month before the next tournament starts.”
