Proteas batter Laura Wolvaardt says they need to improve their performances with the bat if they want to defeat England in the semifinal of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday at Newlands (3pm).
The Proteas secured their place in the last four thanks to a 10-wicket win over Bangladesh on Tuesday at Newlands. SA restricted Bangladesh to 113/6 in their 20 overs with Marizanne Kapp (2/17) and Ayabonga Khaka (2/21), Shabnim Ismail (1/22), and Nonkululeko Mlaba (1/21) contributing with wickets and management of the scoring.
With the target of 114 to win the match, the Proteas sent Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits to the crease to mount the chase. The duo were slow to get going but eventually hit top form as the innings unfolded. Brits scored 50* from 51 balls, with Wolvaardt putting up a career-best 66* off 56 deliveries. Their partnership saw the team clinch the crucial win. The Proteas finished in second place in Pool A behind Australia.
For Wolvaardt, her player of the match-winning innings relieved some pressure off her shoulders as she was struggling to get runs on the board.
“It’s been a frustrating tournament for me so far, what conversations haven’t I been having, if anything I have been overthinking it, speaking to people. I’m glad I was able to get us a win. It feels good to be in a home semifinal,” Wolvaardt said when speaking to the media.
The talented batter revealed that she and Brits gave each other a pep talk to accelerate the innings during the drinks.
“After the drinks break, I think we did, we made it look a lot harder than it was. In the first ten overs, we struggled to find our timing. We were losing our shapes a bit.
“After the drinks break, we said we still have 10 wickets at hand and we need to be positive, we can’t leave this for the last over, and we started playing better cricket. We need to have that mindset from the start next time,” she said.
Next up for the Proteas is England, who topped Pool B with an impressive four wins. Wolvaardt knows they will have to be on top of their game if they are to win against their opponents.
“They are a quality side, we have lost many semifinals against them, which is not ideal. They play a very explosive, attacking brand of cricket. We need to have a good discussion on how we can use that against them.
“We are going to have to play a good game of cricket. There’s no denying they are a good cricket side, a very explosive side. We are going to have to put up a lot of runs if we want to stand a chance of beating them,” Wolvaardt said.
We need to up our game, Proteas batter Wolvaardt says
‘England are a very explosive side’
Image: Gallo Images
Proteas batter Laura Wolvaardt says they need to improve their performances with the bat if they want to defeat England in the semifinal of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday at Newlands (3pm).
The Proteas secured their place in the last four thanks to a 10-wicket win over Bangladesh on Tuesday at Newlands. SA restricted Bangladesh to 113/6 in their 20 overs with Marizanne Kapp (2/17) and Ayabonga Khaka (2/21), Shabnim Ismail (1/22), and Nonkululeko Mlaba (1/21) contributing with wickets and management of the scoring.
With the target of 114 to win the match, the Proteas sent Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits to the crease to mount the chase. The duo were slow to get going but eventually hit top form as the innings unfolded. Brits scored 50* from 51 balls, with Wolvaardt putting up a career-best 66* off 56 deliveries. Their partnership saw the team clinch the crucial win. The Proteas finished in second place in Pool A behind Australia.
For Wolvaardt, her player of the match-winning innings relieved some pressure off her shoulders as she was struggling to get runs on the board.
“It’s been a frustrating tournament for me so far, what conversations haven’t I been having, if anything I have been overthinking it, speaking to people. I’m glad I was able to get us a win. It feels good to be in a home semifinal,” Wolvaardt said when speaking to the media.
The talented batter revealed that she and Brits gave each other a pep talk to accelerate the innings during the drinks.
“After the drinks break, I think we did, we made it look a lot harder than it was. In the first ten overs, we struggled to find our timing. We were losing our shapes a bit.
“After the drinks break, we said we still have 10 wickets at hand and we need to be positive, we can’t leave this for the last over, and we started playing better cricket. We need to have that mindset from the start next time,” she said.
Next up for the Proteas is England, who topped Pool B with an impressive four wins. Wolvaardt knows they will have to be on top of their game if they are to win against their opponents.
“They are a quality side, we have lost many semifinals against them, which is not ideal. They play a very explosive, attacking brand of cricket. We need to have a good discussion on how we can use that against them.
“We are going to have to play a good game of cricket. There’s no denying they are a good cricket side, a very explosive side. We are going to have to put up a lot of runs if we want to stand a chance of beating them,” Wolvaardt said.
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