Laura Wolvaardt 4, India 1.
That could very well have been the scoreline in the recent five-match T201 series in South Africa. The only match India won was the one in which Wolvaardt failed to reach 20.
That was in the fourth T20I at Johannesburg, in which she was out for 18. That was the game in which Deepti Sharma regained her touch as one of the premier all-rounders in the women’s game, claiming five wickets after making an unbeaten 36 off 26 balls. The visitors won by 14 runs, but the South Africans had already clinched the series.
The rubber had been decided in the previous match, which was also played at the Wanderers. And that game produced one of the best knocks in women’s cricket of late. Wolvaardt’s 115 off 53 balls was a masterclass in T20 batting.
The 27-year-old’s third hundred in the format helped her team get past the target set by India – 192 – with 3.3 overs remaining. It was the highest successful chase for South Africa. It was Wolvaardt’s third T20I hundred, and it was her fastest – off 47 balls. All those records matter, yes.
The way she lorded over the Indian attack, right from the start, mattered too. She, and her opening partner, Sune Luus gave Harmanpreet Kaur’s women no chance despite putting on the board what was a challenging total. While the former played the supporting role admirably with a 42-ball 64 not out, the current one destroyed the Indian bowlers; she was generous enough to give a couple of chances, but this was, of course, a series that would not be exactly remembered for India’s fielding; even some of its best fielders, like Jemimah Rodrigues, fumbled.
Wolvaardt, of course, made India pay for those lapses. And she did it with some spectacular shots, like she did all through the series. She began by sending Renuka past the midwicket boundary off the first ball of the innings. The swing bowler was later swung for a couple of big sixes on the on-side.
The innings, in particular, showcased how increasingly aggressive Wolvaardt is becoming as a top-order batter. She has always been admired for her elegant batting – her cover drive is pure art – and the way she could anchor her team’s innings, or the way she could pace her knock. And talking of her cover drive, Australian great Meg Lanning had once famously replied to an ICC tweet asking fans who had the best cover drive of the generation.
Usual suspects
The international cricket body had put out pictures of some usual suspects: Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Babar Azam. Those were lovely pictures, too, of all the men playing one of the most classical, aesthetically pleasing shots in the game. The images looked especially lovelier as the players were all in their whites.
The picture Lanning posted of Wolvaardt had the South African in yellow and green – because she hadn’t played a Test yet and there sadly are far too few games for women in the longest – and greatest – format. But, that image still brought out the beauty of the lady’s cover drive. Come to think of it, there is no gender to the sheer art of batting. Just think of Smriti Mandhana; she is as stylish as a male left-hander.
Women’s cricket needs entertainers like Smriti and Wolvaardt. The game may have taken off in a big way in India – the ODI World Cup victory could not have been timed better – the WPL and The Hundred may be bringing in new fans, but it is still evolving. There is potential for the sport to grow further. And for that, superstars like Wolvaardt can be handy.
She could inspire a lot more young girls in her country. Women’s cricket had received a major boost when the team reached the final of the T20 World Cup in 2023 at home. South Africa went down to the invincible Australia in the final.
All-rounder Marizanne Kapp had told this writer back then how much it meant to become the first senior South African team – male or female – to reach a World Cup final. “The support we received at the World Cup from the crowds was amazing,” she said. “But, still you won’t be remembered for playing the semifinals, you will be remembered for winning World Cups. We can’t get stuck on us reaching the final.”
Well, three years later, South African women are still stuck there. They played the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup against New Zealand and then the 2025 ODI World Cup final against India.
In last November’s final at the DY Patil Stadium, the host had asked the South Africans to chase at nearly six an over. Not an easy task in a final in front of a full house, but as long as Wolvaardt was there, they had hope. She was dismissed for a 98-ball 101 in the 42nd over. Once the opener went, the remaining three wickets fell quickly.
Former India captain Shubhangi Kulkarni rates that innings very highly. “I thought Wolvaardt played brilliantly in the final against India and South Africa was very much in the game when she was at the wicket,” she tells The Hindu. “She showed great temperament, which I think is her best quality. Under pressure, in crucial roles, in major tournaments, she has been able to perform well.”
She had performed alright in the semifinal against England at Guwahati. It was her 169 off 143 balls – she got out off the last ball of the 48th over – that helped South Africa set a far too big total that denied the Englishwomen a third straight final.
Wolvaardt finished the World Cup as its leading scorer, with 571 runs, 137 more than the second-placed Smriti. Apart from two hundreds, she had also hit three fifties and had an average of 71.37.
That World Cup had begun disastrously for Wolvaardt and South Africa though. At the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, the same venue as the semifinal, against the same team, England, she was out in the second over, her leading edge ending up as a return catch to left-arm spinner Linsey Smith. The South African innings lasted just four balls more than a T20I innings, and totalled 69.
After England chased down that score in just 14.1 overs, Wolvaardt addressed the media. One recalls how calmly she took on the questions from the reporters on that October evening. “We are a much, much better side than 69 all out,” she had said. “We spent a lot of time in these conditions in the last couple of months, so definitely wouldn’t put it on the wicket.”
That was a captain talking.
She sounded confident that her team could bounce back despite a poor start and it was such a long tournament, with every team getting seven games in the league stage. South Africa indeed bounced back. And Wolvaardt led from the front.
“She has been an excellent captain,” says Shubhangi. “She is a leader, and has shown a lot of maturity.”
The Pune-based veteran rates Wolvaardt as one of the best batters of all time in women’s cricket. “She is technically correct and is a classical batter, and I was really surprised she was not bought by any franchise at the inaugural WPL in 2023 (she came in as a replacement for Gujarat Giants’ Beth Mooney, who was injured in the opening game of the tournament),” she says. “She plays proper cricketing shots and is good across formats.”
Wolvaardt has played just four Tests, though. She has a hundred and fifty from them. She averages a remarkable 51.30 in ODIs. No current player has a better number. She has 5695 runs in the format, with 13 hundreds and 40 fifties. In T20Is, apart from the three hundreds, she has 16 fifties.
Yes, some of those came against India in the recent series, in which her scores read 51, 54, 115, 18, 92 not out. She could not have timed those innings better, either: the T20 World Cup in England is just five weeks away. Wolvaardt will be determined to make a statement in the group of death. She will do that with flair, you can bet.
