Laura Wolvaardt is not completely satisfied despite South Africa commanding a 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Friday at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The Proteas have now won four matches in a row and have emerged as strong contenders to reach the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup. Still, Wolvaardt emphasized that the team still has work to do.
Opening duo Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits struggled earlier in the tournament but told a different story on Sunday. Their unbeaten partnership of 125 runs from just 14.5 overs took South Africa to a revised target of 121 with 31 balls to spare. Wolvaardt added that she hopes the Proteas’ top and middle order will come together in the future.
“It’s something we’ve definitely talked about. We didn’t have the best tournament as an opening pair, so it was great to get up to 100 runs. I think we’re still looking for that perfect game as a team. Sometimes the top order shot, sometimes the middle order. We have to pull together,” Wolvaardt said after the match.
Wolvaardt’s side had to wait five and a half hours for the match to resume after rain stopped play. Once back on the field, they restricted Sri Lanka to 105 for seven, thanks in large part to Nonkululeko Mlaba taking three key wickets. Wolvaardt praised South Africa’s death bowling but admitted the team needed some time to regroup after a long break.
“We were a bit loose with the ball in the dying overs but we did better today. It’s hard to stay switched on, you could see we weren’t as switched on when we came back after the break but we managed to regroup,” Wolvaardt added.
South Africa will be looking to cement their place in the semi-finals when they take on Fatima Sana’s Pakistan in Colombo on Tuesday 21 October.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
October 17, 2025
