![Laura Wolvaardt put on a batting masterclass [Source: AFP Photos]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1761742807384_Laura_Wolvaardt(1).jpg?type=hq)
Laura Wolvaardt put on a batting masterclass [Source: AFP Photos]
South Africa Women’s captain Laura Wolvaardt turned the first semifinal of the Women’s World Cup 2025 into her personal highlight reel. At the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, she played an absolute blinder, a knock that had class written all over it.
Laura Wolvaardt played a knock for the ages
After England won the toss and decided to field, Laura Wolvaardt walked out like she owned the place. And by the time she was done, she had 169 runs to her name and the English attack scratching their heads.
Opening with Tazmin Brits, Wolvaardt made sure South Africa got off to a dream start. The pair stitched together a solid 116-run stand. While Brits held one end steady, Wolvaardt went after anything loose.
She reached her fifty in just 52 balls, her 13th fifty-plus score in World Cup history. That put her on level terms with India Women’s very own Mithali Raj, who took 36 innings to get there. Wolvaardt did it in just 23.
Record books take note
With every boundary that raced to the fence, Wolvaardt was rewriting history. During the innings, she also became the first-ever South African woman to reach 5000 ODI runs. She is only the sixth player in women’s cricket to cross that mark and she did it faster than most, second only to India’s Smriti Mandhana, who got there in 112 innings.
If that wasn’t enough, Wolvaardt’s 169 now stands as the highest score by a South African in Women’s World Cup history and by quite a distance.
Highest scores for South Africa in World Cups
- 169 – Laura Wolvaardt vs England, 2025 SF (Guwahati)
- 102 – Marizanne Kapp vs Pakistan, 2013*
- 101 – Linda Olivier vs Ireland, 2000*
- 101 - Tazmin Brits vs NZ-W, 2025
England’s fightback couldn’t dim Wolvaardt’s brilliance
England Women did throw a few punches back after the strong start, picking up three wickets for just three runs midway through the innings. But Wolvaardt stood tall amid the chaos, soaking up the pressure like a pro.
Her 169 came off just 143 balls, packed with 20 fours and 4 sixes before she was dismissed by Lauren Bell. For England Women, Sophie Ecclestone was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/44 in her 10 overs.
However, that didn’t stop the Proteas Women from posting a huge total of 319/7. And it was all possible because of Laura Wolvaardt’s brilliance, who turned up when it mattered and helped her side put up a mammoth score in a high-pressure World Cup semi-final.
