Wolvaardt Defiant After South Africa's Shocking Collapse in World Cup Opener
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has backed her team to bounce back after a disastrous start to their Women’s World Cup 2025 campaign, where they were bowled out for just 69 against England and slumped to a ten-wicket defeat.
Speaking after the match, Wolvaardt said the batting collapse was a rare off day and not a reflection of the team's ability or preparation.
"We are much, much better than 69 all out," Wolvaardt said. "As a group, we just need to put it behind us as quickly as we can and move forward. If we're going to take that into the next game, it's going to be a very long tournament for us."
Despite facing a dominant England side that expertly exploited the conditions, Wolvaardt defended her team's build-up to the match, noting that they had specifically prepared for the challenge of left-arm spin, which proved decisive.
"I think our prep has been good. I don't think there were too many demons in the pitch. It was just one of those days where everyone went out early and that happens in cricket sometimes," she said.
South Africa were undone by England's spin duo Sophie Ecclestone and Linsey Smith, with Smith particularly devastating in her World Cup debut. She dismissed Wolvaardt with just her second delivery and went on to dismantle the top order, exploiting the angle and swing to great effect.
Wolvaardt admitted her personal dismissal was especially frustrating, given the level of specific preparation undertaken.
"Yesterday, personally, I was super specific in my training. I had someone bowl like Lauren Bell and I had the left-armer at me. I had already planned my guard, my options... To have that soft dismissal today was very disappointing with all the preparation we had put in."
Despite the poor outing, Wolvaardt maintained confidence in the middle order, which has been under scrutiny due to inconsistent performances. South Africa’s Nos. 3 to 6 have the lowest combined average among the eight teams in the tournament since the start of 2023, though Wolvaardt pointed to recent improvements.
"Our middle order has actually been better this year than they have ever been," she said. "The likes of Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, and Annerie Dercksen have really been scoring a lot of runs. It's just one of those days where both top order and middle order didn't fire."
The match also brought back memories of a similar collapse in their last ODI before the tournament, when Pakistan's Nashra Sandhu claimed 6 for 26 to bowl them out for 115. However, Wolvaardt dismissed any direct comparisons, highlighting the difference in conditions and spin styles.
"Those were two quite different spinners. Smith was very good with her swing and drift today, whereas Sandhu got a lot of turn over the wicket. Today, it was just a total collapse. We didn’t apply ourselves well enough with the bat."
South Africa now turn their attention to their next World Cup clash, against New Zealand in Indore on October 6, where they will be desperate to get their campaign back on track.
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