IT is alien to Laura Wolvaardt’s nature to issue rallying cries. She is, by her own admission, loath to speak in front of a group because “it doesn’t come super naturally to me”.
She prefers to let others like coach Mandla Mashimbyi do the Coach Carter-like Hollywood blockbuster dressing room motivational talks.
This should not be confused though with a lack of ambition or determination. Wolvaardt is fiercely competitive and possesses an inner core of steel that leads by tenacious example through her inspirational deeds. Just re-watch her epic semi-final innings against England.
But on Saturday, on the eve of the Proteas’ Women’s first-ever appearance in a World Cup final, she had a simple message to her team.
Two nations. One dream 🇮🇳🇿🇦
Harmanpreet Kaur and Laura Wolvaardt stand on the precipice of #CWC25 history 🏆 pic.twitter.com/NzrfhYBCCh
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) November 1, 2025
“Mandla normally does the really inspirational stuff, the you’re carrying your country type of thing. And then I think I just come in with a little ‘stay calm girls’ at the end,” Wolvaardt, who struck a match-winning 169 in the semi-final, said.
“There’s going to be a lot of noise, a lot happening, a lot of maybe different routines than you’re used to in a normal game. But at the end of the day, it’s just a game of cricket. So, I think just holding our nerve and staying calm is going to go a long way. I think it’ll be super important for us to just stay as present as we can.”
There’s no doubt the blue-clad DY Patil Stadium will reverberate from the moment singer Sunidhi Chauhan, accompanied by a group of 60 Indian dancers, followed by a special fireworks show orchestrated by famed choreographer Sanjay Shetty, gets everyone in a frenzy for the most anticipated match in cricket-crazed India since the Men’s World Cup final in Ahmedabad two years ago.
And that’s even before chants of “IND-YAAA, IND-YAAA!” are set to raise the roof at the first sight of Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.
Wolvaardt, though, is ready to flip the script on their hosts and their 1.6 billion supporters.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a very tough game. It’s going to be a really big crowd, probably the biggest crowd that a lot of our girls have played in front of. I think with the whole crowd behind India,” she said.
“It’s going to be a very exciting opportunity but at the same time I think it puts a lot of pressure on them as well. They have the whole country behind them and are sort of expected to win. A lot of eyeballs on the game, a lot of added pressure. I think it sort of plays in our favour hopefully. Hopefully we win. I guess that will silence them.”
Go @ProteasWomenCSA! 🇿🇦🏆
ft. @TembaBavuma #CWC25 pic.twitter.com/3D5szFWir3— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) November 1, 2025
India are undeniably a Himalayan-sized obstacle that stands between the Proteas and their destiny. Not only do the hosts boast some of the finest cricketers on the planet in Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet, but they will be buoyed by a colossal semi-final victory. Led by the tenacious Jemimah Rodrigues, they sent six-times champions Australia packing in spectacular fashion and will now be filled with the confidence that nothing can now stand in their way.
Equally, the Proteas will have the self-belief that they can scale their Everest. Arguably, the most consistent team in the women’s cricket the past three years, having reached successive ICC T20 World Cup finals and now a first-ever ICC ODI World Cup final, they have the pedigree to finally rid themselves of the bridesmaid’s tag.
Marizanne Kapp, the highest wicket-taker in ICC Women’s World Cup history, will lead the Proteas attack with impressive left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba and the experienced Ayabonga Khaka providing quality support.
But it is with the bat that the Proteas can really hurt their hosts, as they have already shown in a thrilling group stage run-chase in Visakhapatnam. Nadine de Klerk’s brutal assault at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium would have left indelible scars on India’s bowling unit.
Wolvaardt, however, believes that when the sides line up for what is expected to be an emotional rendition of the national anthems on Sunday, a clean slate awaits both teams.
“Every cricket game starts at zero,” she said. “We can’t sort of bring any of our history into this game, whether it be finals that we’ve lost or games that we’ve won against India.
“We’re just really trying to erase all of that stuff and start completely afresh in this game. We know we have to play some really good cricket.”
LIKELY TEAMS FOR ICC WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FINAL
PROTEAS: Laura Wolvaardt (captain), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Nondumiso Shangase, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
INDIA: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Kranti Gaud, N Shree Charani, Renuka Singh.
On-field Umpires: Eloise Sheridan (Australia) & Jacqueline Williams (West Indies)
Third Umpire: Sue Redfern (England), Fourth Umpire: Nimali Perera (Sri Lanka)
Match Referee: Michell Pereira (Sri Lanka)
Start: 11:30am (SA time); TV: SuperSport
