Proteas duo nominated for ICC Women's Player of the Month

Laura Wolvaardt of South Africa plays a shot during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Photo: ICC Media Zone

LIVE scores: Proteas Women v Bangladesh T20 World Cup

Follow all the live action as the Proteas Women take on Bangladesh in a must-win T20 World Cup game on Tuesday night.

by Craig Lewis

21-02-2023 18:06

in Cricket

Laura Wolvaardt of South Africa plays a shot during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Photo: ICC Media Zone

With South Africa’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final hopes solely resting on a victory in their final group stage match, opening batter Laura Wolvaardt insists her team are fully focused on the upcoming clash against Bangladesh taking place on Tuesday, 21 February in Cape Town.

The Proteas Women wrap-up their Group 1 action against the Tigresses at the Newlands Cricket Ground from 19h00 (SAST) in what is a must-win game.

Tickets are available on TicketPro from just R30, with all the T20 cricket also broadcast live on SuperSport Cricket (Ch. 212).

You can follow the T20 World Cup live action below:

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Speaking ahead of the all-important encounter against Bangladesh, Wolvaardt shared a glimpse of the mood within the camp, emphasising the approach heading into the match.

“A lot of us feel really fortunate to be in this position and to still have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals,” the right-handed batter commented.

“Obviously it’s a vital game for us tomorrow so we are just trying to stay really focused on that and keep focusing on our processes. The last game didn’t go exactly how we would have liked but we are just going to stick to our plans and hopefully we can execute them better tomorrow,” Wolvaardt added.

South Africa go into their fourth and final round-robin match in fourth place in Group 1 after a narrow opening defeat against Sri Lanka (lost by 3 runs) which was followed up by a comprehensive victory over New Zealand (won by 65 runs) before the host nation lost to the defending champions, Australia (lost by 6 wickets).

Although the Proteas hold a positive record over their next opponents, with nine wins in 10 previous encounters, Wolvaardt discussed the element of pressure involved in the must-win match against Bangladesh, stating that the home support received throughout the tournament has been a benefit in that regard.

“I don’t think so (on SA having added pressure), I think if anything, the home crowd has helped us a bit. It’s been incredible to be out there with the atmosphere we’ve gotten at some of the games; to have thousands of people cheering when we are scoring runs and taking wickets, it’s helped us quite a bit.

“Being the host nation, there is a little bit of extra pressure but for me personally, it is really special to have all of my family and friends in the crowd and I have enjoyed it.

Looking back at South Africa’s game at Newlands, where the home side came unstuck against Sri Lanka, Wolvaardt noted:

“We didn’t bat really well In that game. I think we lacked partnerships up front and we didn’t have that set batter that was batting long and through the innings, so that is our main focus for tomorrow; just to keep building those partnerships.

“Overall, it was quite a nice wicket to bat on so we just need to apply ourselves and hopefully it will turn out better tomorrow,” the Cape Town-born batter said.

On a personal note, although Wolvaardt’s form with the bat has not been where it was in the previous 12 months, the top-order striker remains optimistic about her performances with the willow and believes her scoring form is around the corner.

“It’s never nice not making runs, especially at a home tournament,” Wolvaardt said.

“It’s supposed to be a very special time for me, so to not be making runs is frustrating but at the end of the day, I feel I am still hitting the ball pretty well in the nets, so I just need to stay calm and trust that the runs will come when they need to,” she added.

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Momentum Proteas 15 player squad for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup South Africa 2023:

Suné Luus (Titans) (Captain), Chloé Tryon (Dolphins) (Vice-Captain), Anneke Bosch (North West Dragons), Tazmin Brits (Garden Route Badgers), Nadine de Klerk (Western Province), Annerie Dercksen (Garden Route Badgers), Lara Goodall (Western Province), Shabnim Ismail (Dolphins), Sinalo Jafta (Western Province), Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province), Ayabonga Khaka (Lions), Masabata Klaas (North West Dragons), Nonkululeko Mlaba (Dolphins), Delmi Tucker (Western Province), Laura Wolvaardt (Western Province)