Proteas look ahead after falling short in World Cup decider
New-found consistency for South Africa can only be a good thing for the Proteas going forward, according to skipper Laura Wolvaardt.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt believes her team continues to evolve and an elusive ICC trophy will arrive if they can continue to perform at the highest level.
The Proteas fell at the last hurdle once again when the lost to hosts India by 52 runs in an exciting finale to the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup on Sunday and have now been beaten finalists at the three most recent ICC tournaments following runners up finishers at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2023 and 2024.
India beat South Africa for historic first World Cup title | Match Highlights | CWC25
Hosts India clinched their maiden ICC Women's Cricket World Cup title with a superb win over South Africa in the final.
While disappointed to have lost narrowly to India in the final of the Women's Cricket World Cup, Wolvaardt reflected on the growth her side had made since they reached their first major final on home soil in 2023.
"I think after that first one (2023 T20 World Cup) at Newlands, I think we sort of had domestic contracts introduced after that. So that's really big for our depth as a team," Wolvaardt said.
"The last one (2024) I think sort of just made us sort of a bigger name in cricket, I guess.
"I think we're the team that consistently is making finals now, whereas before it was maybe like a one-time thing.
"So I'm really proud that we're able to reach three in a row and I think it shows that we're doing something right domestically and from a squad perspective, consistency wise.
"Hopefully we can keep reaching finals and one day, one day we can win one."
Wolvaardt proud of South Africa's efforts | Post-Match Press Conference | CWC25
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt was proud of her players as they fell to India in the final of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup
The consistency of Wolvaardt at the top of South Africa's batting order was one of the major reasons behind the Proteas' run at the World Cup, with the right-hander amassing a whopping 571 runs at an average of 71.37 to break the record of Australia's Alyssa Healy for the most runs at any single edition of the tournament.
Three of Wolvaardt's teammates (Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp) also scored more than 200 runs across the tournament, while Nonkululeko Mlaba (13) and Kapp (12) were nestled highly among the leading wicket-takers leaving the South African skipper with plenty of positives to take from the event.
"I think it's been a great campaign for us - to make it all the way to the final is really awesome," Wolvaardt noted.
"I think we'll still look back at this tournament as a lot of positives as we've played some really good cricket throughout this tournament.
"At one stage we won five games in a row or something like that, which is pretty big for our group.
"Just searching for that consistency which is something that we don't necessarily have in bilaterals. So really proud that we're able to perform in, in big tournaments."
