New era starts for Proteas, but Wolvaardt’s input delayed

The Proteas women will begin the Laura Wolvaardt era in her absence when they face Bangladesh in Benoni on Sunday.  

Having been confirmed as the national team’s full-time captain, Wolvaardt will miss at least the opening match of the three match T20 series with Bangladesh due to commitments in Australia. Her team in the Women’s Big Bash League, the Adelaide Strikers, qualified for the final of that tournament, with Wolvaardt set to open the batting in Saturday’s final.

She won’t be back in South Africa in time for Sunday’s first T20 and her status for the remainder of that series will be assessed once she arrives, either on Monday or Tuesday. 

A captain for Sunday and possibly the remainder of the T20 series will be named later this week, and though she’s in the squad, it’s unlikely it will be former skipper Sune Luus. She’s been pretty clear about wanting to move her career forward without the added responsibility of the captaincy, which may mean another new stand-in leader, with Sinalo Jaftha or Anneke Bosch favourites. 

But even their temporary appointments shouldn’t knock the new era off kilter. There is at least clarity from Cricket South Africa after a messy few months in which Wolvaardt and the senior players shouldered plenty of burden in Pakistan and then in the home series against New Zealand. 

A new head coach is expected to be announced soon, with that person overseeing the team’s preparations for the tour to Australia which starts at the end of January. 

There will be greater purpose about the direction the team will take in the new year. Wolvaardt, having served her assessment period in Pakistan and then against New Zealand, will be clear about how she wants to lead the team. 

She was pleased with how that assessment period unfolded, especially how she was able to balance the leadership role with her output with the bat. Her unbeaten 124 in the second ODI against New Zealand, which she described as one of the favourite innings of her career, offered the clearest indication for Wolvaardt that she would be able to perform as the team’s best batter while being captain. 

What she will want to do is properly stamp her authority on the team, and in conjunction with the new head coach, create a style of play more in keeping with the trends set by the all-conquering Australians. That team's aggression with the bat was the hallmark of the twin triumphs in the last two ICC events — the 2022 ODI World Cup and the 2023 T20 World Cup — and England and India are following that example with how they want to play.

Wolvaardt’s experience from the WBBL, the Hundred in England and her brief stint in the Women's Premier League in India earlier this year will have made her aware of the rapid changes the women’s game is undergoing. South Africa have taken significant steps in the past decade as their results at ICC events illustrate, including this year’s memorable run to the final of the T20 World Cup in Cape Town. 

But Wolvaardt will know her team risks stagnating unless the new crop of young players coming through aren’t quickly brought up to speed with the modern way. 

The T20s against Bangladesh don’t hold as much importance as the ODIs which follow later in December and are part of the Women’s Championship competition which will determine the automatic qualifiers for the 2025 World Cup. 

Therefore the selectors took the opportunity to blood a few youngsters like Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx for the T20s, while some senior players like Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka and Nadine de Klerk either get an extended break or nurse injury niggles. 

While Wolvaardt may be absent, and the new coach weeks away from starting the job, the foundation for the new era will be created in that series. 

Proteas squad for T20 series against Bangladesh: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Britz, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Lara Goodall, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Delmi Tucker, Laura Wolvaardt (capt)