Proteas Women captain Laura Wolvaardt has emphasised the importance of a strong start as South Africa begin their ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) campaign with a three-match one-day international (ODI) series against Pakistan, starting in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
The match will get underway at 10:00 SAST at Mangaung Oval and will be broadcast live on SuperSport Variety 1 (Ch. 206) and SABC 3. South Africa will be aiming for maximum points as part of their long-term pursuit of automatic qualification for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2029.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Wolvaardt underlined the team’s ambitions within the IWC qualification pathway, while acknowledging the added pressure that comes with matches played for points.
“It's massive to start off well in this. You don’t want to find yourself in a position where you have a couple of must-wins at the end of the cycle, because that is a bit stressful. So if you can get yourself in a position where you've qualified pretty early in the cycle, then that's awesome.
“And I think it's nice, it gives the games a bit more added pressure, and every game is very important, so hopefully we can get all of our points here,” the skipper added.
The Proteas Women and Pakistan have faced each other regularly in recent years, with South Africa touring the subcontinent three times over the past three years. While Pakistan have secured victories along the way, South Africa continues to hold a dominant head-to-head record in 50-over cricket, with 24 wins from 32 encounters, including a 2–1 series triumph in September last year.
Commenting on Pakistan’s strengths and their approach to ODI cricket, Wolvaardt said: “They have been really competitive opponents, especially when conditions are a bit slower. They are really skilful with their spinners, and they are very hard to get away.
“A flatter track maybe suits our side a bit more. We have a lot of power with the bat in the middle-order, but it is very conditions-based. If the wicket’s got a bit of turn, then they can be really good and really crafty, so it is just about our batting unit identifying that early,” she continued.
The opening ODI also marks the Proteas Women’s return to Mangaung Oval for the first time since facing England in a one-off test match in December 2024. Sunday’s fixture will be only the second women’s 50-over international played at the venue, following South Africa’s victory over Bangladesh in 2018, where Wolvaardt scored an unbeaten 70 in the hosts’ six-wicket win.
“Yeah, it's cool. A lot of our coaches are from here, so we've got a lot of sort of inside knowledge of conditions and the ground, which is cool. Looks like a nice place to play cricket, usually a pretty nice place to bat from what I've heard.
“We are excited to be back here, and I think it will be lots of fun,” Wolvaardt added.
PROTEAS WOMEN’S ODI SQUAD:
Laura Wolvaardt (Fidelity Titans) (Captain), Tazmin Brits (DP World Lions), *Fay Cowling (DP World Lions), Nadine de Klerk (World Sports Betting Western Province), Annerie Dercksen (Garden Route Badgers), Lara Goodall (World Sports Betting Western Province), Ayanda Hlubi (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Sinalo Jafta (DP World Lions), Suné Luus (Fidelity Titans), Karabo Meso (DP World Lions), Nonkululeko Mlaba (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Tumi Sekhukhune (DP World Lions), Nondumiso Shangase (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Chloé Tryon (DP World Lions) and Faye Tunnicliffe (World Sports Betting Western Province)
*Uncapped