Exclusive: Laura Wolvaardt’s ‘Knock for the Ages’ Propels Proteas Women to Maiden World Cup Final

Proteas women’s batting coach Baakier Abrahams praised captain Laura Wolvaardt for her 169 in the semi-final against England on Wednesday. 

Abrahams went on to laud the rest of the batting unit for valuable contributions, including Chloe Tryon and Marizanne Kapp.

Overcoming the occasion

Leading into the semi-final, the Proteas women's team were still limping from the seven-wicket loss to Australia. They were also going to Guwahati to face England, the same team that bowled them out for 69 at the same venue earlier in the tournament.

Abrahams acknowledged that the South African batters were able to overcome that obstacle and beat England by 125 runs, recording their first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final win.

The batting coach was particularly impressed with how bravery of the batters in what was a high-stakes game.

“I think reflecting back on the overall assessment, I thought it was a pretty brave, pretty mature batting performance overall,” Abrahams told SportsBoom.co.za in an exclusive interview.

“A lot has been said around the tournament and how it sort of ebbed and flowed from a batting performance point of view and I think a lot of credit has got to go to the girls and the mentality they showed to rock up on the semi-final on the back of that first game and just the way they went about it, played to our strengths, people understood their role."

“But the way they actually took to the occasion was really impressive. The way they held their nerve.”

Brits, Tryon and Kapp’s innings

Proteas opening batter Tazmin Brits played second fiddle in her 116-run partnership with Wolvaardt.

Marizanne Kapp also played a handy knock, scoring 42 off 33 and helped South Africa build a 72-run stand with Wolvaardt when the Proteas lost three quick wickets.

All-rounder Chloe Tryon scored a 26-ball 33, helping South Africa score 319/7, a total that saw them secure their first-ever spot in the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Abrahams praised the trio for their batting performance in the semi-final.

“There were ebbs and flows in that innings as well. We got off to a great start with Tasmin and Laura, and obviously, in cricket, wickets do fall, and the ability between Kappie and Laura to then not just stabilise but actually score at a quick rate showed the mentality and the mindset of how we want to go about our batting. They transferred a bit of pressure back onto England,” said Abrahams.

“Then another partnership between Chloe, who's been extremely exceptional this tournament for us. People always say Chloe's obviously got a good strike of the ball, but the maturity, the way she played the situations, people say it's uncharacteristic of Chloe."

“But I just think it was part of how she's evolved in the last 18 months, being able to play different situations, being a senior player, taking on the responsibility.”

Laura Wolvaardt's 169

Wolvaardt played a knock that many regard as the best innings in a World Cup semi-final. The right-handed batter brought up 169 off 143 deliveries. Her knock included 20 fours and four sixes as she played a try captain’s innings in Guwahati.

“And then obviously Laura's innings, again, ebbed and flowed, started really well, sort of around the 70s, lost a couple of wickets, needed to be composed, absorbed a couple of dot balls, built the partnership and then sort of found some flow and momentum again,” said Abrahams.  

“I just think it's really impressive in the way she was able to score both sides of the wicket. I think her decision-making, the options she took, was pretty clear and precise and showcased her range in terms of her ability to hit in front of square, behind square, obviously the classical cover drives."

“I think it's going to be one of those World Cup knocks for the ages, innings that I think was fitting for the occasion. But I'm just really impressed with how she's evolved in terms of her style of play over the last 18 months as well. She's really enjoying her batting; she's been striking the ball well."

“People were concerned, obviously she got a couple of starts, didn't convert into sort of the hundreds that they know, but I suppose things work out the way they do, and I'm just happy for her. She got her first World Cup hundred, well deserved.”