South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt has etched her title into the annals of girls’s cricket historical past, shattering the long-standing report for the very best particular person rating by a Proteas participant within the ICC Ladies’s World Cup.
In a panoramic show of sophistication, composure, and power-hitting through the 2025 World Cup semifinal in opposition to arch-rivals England, Wolvaardt produced an innings of a lifetime — a powerful 169 off simply 143 balls. Her heroics propelled South Africa to a formidable whole of 319/7, rewriting the nation’s World Cup batting information and giving the Proteas a commanding place within the high-stakes conflict.
Laura Wolvaardt’s historic knock
The appropriate-handed opener was in imperious contact all through her innings, mixing elegant drives with calculated aggression. Her marathon 169, laced with 20 boundaries and 4 towering sixes, eclipsed Marizanne Kapp’s long-standing report of 102* set again in 2013.
Wolvaardt’s innings in Guwahati was a masterclass in constructing an innings beneath stress. After a brisk 116-run opening partnership with Tazmin Brits (45), South Africa confronted a quick collapse within the center overs. However the skipper stood tall, stitching collectively essential partnerships — together with an important 72-run stand with all-rounder Kapp (42) — earlier than launching right into a flurry of late boundaries that left the English assault helpless.
The knock was not nearly runs; it was about milestones. Wolvaardt grew to become the primary South African captain to attain a century in a Ladies’s World Cup knockout match. She additionally surpassed the 5,000-run landmark in Ladies’s ODIs — a report unmatched by any of her compatriots.
Additionally WATCH: Ladies’s World Cup 2025 – Nat Sciver-Brunt and different English gamers hail Laura Wolvaardt’s century in Semi-final 1
Different iconic innings for South Africa in World Cups
Marizanne Kapp (102 vs Pakistan, 2013): Earlier than Wolvaardt’s beautiful effort, Kapp’s unbeaten 102 in opposition to Pakistan in Cuttack through the 2013 World Cup was the gold customary of South African batting. Her all-round brilliance powered the Proteas to a dominant 126-run victory, setting the tone for future generations.
Linda Olivier (101 vs Eire, 2000): South Africa’s first-ever Ladies’s World Cup century got here from Olivier through the 2000 version in New Zealand. Her unbeaten 101 in opposition to Eire in Lincoln laid the muse for a cushty nine-wicket win and stays one of many pioneering knocks in South African ladies’s cricket.
Tazmin Brits (101 vs New Zealand, 2025): Brits joined the elite membership earlier in the identical match, hammering 101 in opposition to New Zealand. Her fluent stroke play guided South Africa to an important six-wicket triumph, and her 159-run partnership with Sune Luus was instrumental within the Proteas’ dominant group-stage run.
Additionally READ: ‘I’m on my toes applauding’: Followers erupt as Laura Wolvaardt smashes beautiful century in opposition to England in Ladies’s World Cup 2025 semifinal
This text was first revealed at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Instances firm.