Proteas skipper Laura Wolvaardt now holds the record for the most runs by a player at a 50-over Women's World Cup.
Proteas women’s captain Laura Wolvaardt led from the front, as her record-breaking tournament propelled her team to a first ever 50-over World Cup final, and almost the title, over a groundbreaking campaign in India.
The Proteas unfortunately came up short in the final on Sunday, losing by 52-runs against a fired up host team India, who themselves made history by triumphing on the biggest stage in women’s cricket for the first time.
Wolvaardt, however, did everything that she could, striking a brilliant century in the final, but unfortunately didn’t receive enough support from the rest of the team, which saw their chase of 299 to win come up well short.
Wolvaardt would have been a worthy player of the tournament, but unfortunately missed out on the award to Indian allrounder Deepti Sharma, who topped the bowling charts with 22 wickets at an average of 20.40, and scored 215 runs at an average of 30.71.
Record breaker
The South African captain, however, broke the record for most runs at a Women’s World Cup, passing Aussie great Allysa Healy’s 509 runs that she made at the 2022 edition, with Wolvaardt racking up an incredible 571 runs at an average of 71.27, scoring 137 more than her closest challenger, Smriti Mandhana (434).
She hit three half centuries in the pool stage, but saved her best for last, hitting two magnificent centuries in the semi and final, with a magical 169 against England earning her the player of the match award, while her 101 against India almost inspired her team to glory.
Speaking after the final Wolvaardt was asked how tough it had been to lead from the front with the bat, while also keeping her high captaincy standards to guide her team to a World Cup finale.
“I probably didn’t have my best year leading into this World Cup, and didn’t start the tournament that well. I was probably overthinking things at first, which wasn’t very good,” explained Wolvaardt.
“So just realising it was just another game of cricket, even though it is the World Cup, was good for me.
“Trying to separate the two, the captaincy and the batting, sort of freed me up a bit, come the back end of the tournament, to just play my natural game and then focus on the captaincy at a different time.”
Amazing tournament
In the end the Proteas will look back on an amazing tournament with pride, despite being heavily beaten twice during the pool stage.
They started their World Cup on the worst possible note, being bowled out for 69 by England during a 10-wicket defeat, and received similar treatment from Australia in their last pool match, all out for 97 in a seven wicket defeat.
But they had already secured their place in the knockouts after a five match winning run, beating New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, to qualify before their final pool game against juggernauts Australia.
They produced their best performance in the semifinal, clinching an unbelievable 125-run win over England, who had destroyed them at the start of the tournament.
Although they then lost the final, the Proteas put up a fight, with Ayabonga Khaka (3/58) leading the bowling effort as India scored 298/7 batting first, followed by Wolvaardt’s heroic effort in the chase, with her team bowled out for 246.
“I think I couldn’t be prouder of this team for the campaign we have had. We played some brilliant cricket throughout, but we were outplayed today. I think India played fantastically well,” said Wolvaardt.
“It’s unfortunate for us to be on the losing side but I am sure we will definitely grow from this as a group.”
Top performances
Other players to have impressed over the tournament include Nonkululeko Mlaba, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk and Tazmin Brits.
Mlaba was the pick of the Proteas bowlers, taking 13 wickets at an average of 22.69 and best figures of 4/40 against New Zealand.
Kapp picked up 12 wickets at an average of 20.25, with best figures of 5/20 against England, while she also scored 208 runs at an average of 29.71, with two half centuries and a best score of 68 not out against Pakistan.
De Klerk was the Proteas’ finisher at the tournament and led them to stunning wins over India and Bangladesh. She finished with 208 runs at an average of 52 and a highest score of 84 not out against India, while also picking up nine wickets at an average of 26.11 and best figures of 2/24.
Brits had an up and down tournament, usually going big or cheaply, as she scored 235 runs at an average of 29.37, with one century, 101 against New Zealand, and one fifty, 55 not out against Sri Lanka, while she also went out for three ducks and two single figure scores.
“We did so well to put a few bad games (in the pool stage) behind us. We were either really good or really bad, but thankfully there was a lot more really good (moments) throughout this tournament,” admitted Wolvaardt.
“With so many different players stepping up it was an amazing tournament for a lot of different players and I am just proud of the resilience shown to get all the way to the final.”
