Wolvaardt keen to lift T20 World Cup trophy as Proteas captain

South Africa created history in the previous edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup by making their first-ever final in the event. Skipper Laura Wolvaardt looked at the run as a watershed moment for women’s cricket in the country.

“Reaching our first-ever World Cup final in 2023 was a big landmark moment for us. It was a big ‘breaking the barriers and pushing the boundaries’ moment for the team*.*”

But Wolvaardt was eager to improve on the previous performance, where they lost to Australia in the final, hoping to lead South Africa to a maiden T20 World Cup title.

“Before that [2023 T20 World Cup], we'd made the semi-finals on a number of occasions, so to be able to go that one step further was very important for us as a group.

“Now we'd like to go that one step further and lift the trophy, but anything can happen in a final in T20 cricket once you've played a whole competition to get there.”

Laura Wolvaardt's best from the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup

In the 2023 edition, South Africa overcame early stutters to reach the finals, and Wolvaardt believed the current squad, featuring 11 of the same players as last time, has the discipline to deliver a similar result.

“It really is just about taking it one game at a time and knowing in the back of our minds that we have the talent and the ability to make the final with a squad that's not all too different from the one we had last time.”

Wolvaardt believes the T20 World Cup 2024, being played in Sharjah and Dubai in the UAE, evens the playing ground as no side will have the home advantage anymore.

“I'm very excited about the T20 World Cup being in Dubai and Sharjah. I think what's pretty cool is that it's sort of neutral territory for all of the teams. Most of the teams will be going in with the same amount of experience in the conditions, not having played there much before, so that's quite exciting.

“It will be quite interesting to see which team adapts the best to the conditions and is able to sum it up as quickly as they can.”

A memorable tournament: Women's T20 World Cup 2023

South Africa have some experience of Asian conditions, having played in Pakistan (September 2023) and India (July 2024) over the last year. While the Proteas have been working on their game in the last few months, Wolvaardt marked adapting to the scorching UAE weather from the cool climes of South Africa as a significant challenge for her side.

“Our preparation has been very good. We had a good tour to India and then had a month where some of us went off to The Hundred and the rest of us stayed at home. We also had two separate camps where we did match scenarios and a lot of skill work that is needed for T20 cricket.

“It’s been winter at home, so temperature-wise it might be a bit of a shock when we get to the tournament.

“That will be a big challenge for us, adapting to the heat. But other than that, I think we've ticked all the boxes and hopefully it bodes well in the World Cup.”

South Africa are in Group B of the competition along with England, West Indies, Bangladesh and Scotland. They open their campaign against West Indies on 4 October in Dubai.