South Africa not on top but England will be under pressure: Laura Wolvaardt
Here’s Laura Wolvaardt’s full transcript ahead of the South Africa vs England semi-final
(Reporter:)
It was probably the most open World Cup so far. How excited are you to play in the semi-finals and how much of a challenge will England present at home?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
Yeah, super excited. I think what’s exciting about it is that we got to the semi-finals and we probably weren’t even at our best as a team yet. I think we found a way to win games, which was good. He was on the winning side more often than not. And yes, I’m excited to play tomorrow. I think I know it’s going to be a pretty sell-out crowd supporting the opposition, so it’s going to be a nice challenge for us. But yeah, playing the hosts in a tournament is always pretty exciting. I think with all that support they will have a bit more pressure on them so hopefully we can put some good cricket together.
(Reporter:)
And when you look back at — when you look back at the campaign so far, what are some things that you think have really worked for you and maybe areas that you might need to work on?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
I think our bowling was pretty good. I think different stages and different games, but I think Kapp and Shabnim being in the power play early on was a big boost for us. We were able to hit early on the power play and then I think we were able to keep teams quiet in the middle and on the power play. I think we’ve had a number of games where, even though they had a decent start, we’ve been able to come back nicely. We probably weren’t at 100% with the bat. I think all our batsmen will admit they would like to score a bit more runs, but I think it’s a good thing and quite an exciting thing because when they get out, hopefully in the next game, it’s going to be a pretty good game.
(Reporter:)
Okay, so yeah, just a couple of — I mean, a lot of these wins that came against Pakistan, Bangladesh, it got a little bit difficult towards the end. How do you deal with a problem like that with a team that gets into these knock-out games where the opposition can be tougher?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
Yeah, a bit frustrating in those games where we probably could have got over the line a bit easier, but I think at the end of the day we got the win, we got the points in the bag and we’re moving forward. But we definitely talked about that if we find ourselves in a similar position, maybe we’ll kill the game sooner. I think we’re blessed with a lot of strength in our lineup, so we have an opportunity to go a little harder earlier. And yes, maybe tomorrow on the oval suits us a little bit better, maybe we can finish it better.
(Reporter:)
And just a trivia about Dan the pitcher. We haven’t seen much of her. Any reason why he hasn’t been bowling lately?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
Yeah, no, he’s not bowling right now. Yeah, so it’s just a starter for this tournament.
(Reporter:)
Can I just ask you about your own bat? A couple of goals in the 40s, one of them against Australia. Do you feel like you have to have something bigger in the big game?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
I hope so. Yeah, I was probably a bit upset with my tournament because I felt like I was in pretty good shape coming into the competition and then I had a few frustrating knocks, maybe I was just trying to hit a bit too hard, but I think that’s just the pressure of the World Cup. It’s hard to stay super calm and cool, but yeah, hopefully I can do it tomorrow. I don’t think it’s that I forgot to bat. I think it’s maybe just one or two things that I didn’t get right and then I got a little frustrated in the middle. So I think tomorrow just stay nice and calm and maybe one or two nice shots and then I’ll be back. So yes.
(Reporter:)
You are very experienced in reaching the semi-finals of major tournaments. What are you drawing from those past experiences for this one?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
Yeah, I think we’ve been able to beat England twice in the knockout stages at World Cups, so it’s not super foreign territory for us. I think on a day when we play very good cricket we can beat anybody. So I just try to remember those tournaments, what we did in those semi-finals, what kind of mindset we were in. But I think this is a team that is really capable of rising to big opportunities. Well, I hope everyone is well tomorrow.
(Reporter:)
Finally, what are your memories of that semi-final at Newlands in 2023 and how can you use it to drive yourself and your team tomorrow?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
Yeah, probably one of the weirdest games of my career. Apparently from Cape Town it was a really great day. I had all my family and friends in the crowd and being in the final for the first time was super special. And yes, our team hasn’t changed much since then, so we have a lot of people who are able to use that experience. Yeah, I guess it should give us confidence knowing we’ve already done it. So yeah, I hope we do it again.
(Reporter:)
And we have just heard from Nat Sciver-Brunt that he will be back in England tomorrow. Does it make your life difficult?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
probably yes I think as a captain it is always difficult for her to plan. I think she’s a world-class batsman and she’s able to hit really weird spots and setting the field is quite difficult for her. So yeah, I think we’ll have to prepare well, hopefully we can keep her calm. But yes, they are world class. I think it will be quite difficult to schedule for all their players, but hopefully we can get on top tomorrow.
(Reporter:)
Would you like Nat to have a substitute in the field if she gets injured again tomorrow?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
I don’t know. If they are first then I wouldn’t mind because then they can’t bat. Then it’s fine.
(Reporter:)
A similar kind of parallel with your World Cup campaign last year, where the first game was a bit of a write-off for the team. Can you talk about, I guess, the resiliency of a group coming back from such a tough loss like you did last year and now in this tournament?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
Yeah, I don’t know why we keep doing this when we start with a really bad game. It’s something we’ve addressed as well. I think we like to start World Cups with a loss and then get under pressure at the back. But yeah, I think the good thing is that we found a way to show some resilience and get to the semi-finals. Hopefully we can do it again tomorrow. But yeah, I think winning all our games in a row after that shows a little bit of consistency, which is probably what we’ve been looking for the last couple of seasons. I think we’re a side that can be quite up and down, so just to win a couple of games in a row against decent opposition was good and hopefully we can do that for the next 2 games.
(Reporter:)
And you talked about the 2023 semi-final team being pretty similar to what it is now 2 years on, but there’s probably an argument to be made that the team is a bit stronger, maybe with the death over from a batting perspective like Kayla and Nadine coming into our own. Does this feel like the missing piece of the puzzle in South Africa’s winning campaign?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
I hope so. Yeah, I think you’re right. I think our bowling is pretty much the same but we have a bit more power to add to the bat. I think that’s been something that we’ve focused on since coach Mandla came in, it’s the power play. And we’ve done a lot of power hitting and we’ve got a lot of young talent who are really good at it. Like you said, Kayla, Nadine, Chloe Dirksen, I think they all naturally have a lot of power. So yeah, maybe that’s what we need to finally get over the line. And I think we’re just going to use it wisely, maybe stack them in shifts so we can continue through all the different phases.
(Reporter:)
You had a great series with the bat at home against the Indians a few months ago. So how much would you like to wear it for, say, to the elimination phase?
(Laura Wolvaardt:)
Yeah, that would be great. Yeah, I think maybe I should spend the next 24 hours thinking about what went well for me back then. Obviously it’s so recent that my batting hasn’t changed. It’s probably just a bit of a mindset thing. So yeah, hopefully I can get it going against England tomorrow.