• Proteas Women out to set World Cup tone

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    Proteas Women’s captain Laura Wolvaardt says her team is eager to make a strong start to their ODI World Cup campaign when they face England in Guwahati on Friday.

    Speaking at Thursday’s pre-match press conference, Wolvaardt said her side was relishing the chance to take on their long-time rivals in the tournament opener.

    “Very excited to get going. England are a very strong side, but we really enjoy playing against them in World Cups,” she said.

    “They’ve beaten us in the semi-finals in the last two editions, so we’re really keen to get a good start against them tomorrow.

    “Beating a team like that early on really sets the tone for the competition. We’ve got a strong group of players here, we’ve prepared well, and we’re looking forward to the game.”

    Despite England’s superior record, Wolvaardt said her players were confident of competing with the best.

    “It’s a tricky one. We’ve beaten them in group stage before, but then lost in the knockouts. We know we can beat them if we play our best cricket. We’ve been batting well, our bowling has improved, and if we stick to our plans we can win tomorrow.”

    Rain is forecast, with the tournament opener between India and Sri Lanka also affected by the weather earlier this week. Wolvaardt said adaptability would be key.

    “There’s been a lot of rain around, and we’ll have to be adaptable. The apps aren’t always reliable, so we’ll just have to deal with whatever comes at us.”

    The skipper also reflected on the growing stature of the women’s game, with more than 22,000 fans attending the opening match.

    “Hopefully this will be a massive World Cup for women’s cricket. The game has grown incredibly over the last few years, and having such a big tournament in India – where cricket has exploded – feels like the pinnacle. With so many strong subcontinent sides, it should be tightly contested and watched all over the world.”

    The match at the ACA Stadium begins at 11:30 (SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport Grandstand.

    Proteas Women World Cup fixtures (all 11:30am SA time):
    Friday, 3 October: vs England, ACA Stadium, Guwahati
    Monday, 6 October: vs New Zealand, Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore
    Thursday, 9 October: vs India, ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
    Monday, 13 October: vs Bangladesh, ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
    Friday, 17 October: vs Sri Lanka, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
    Tuesday, 21 October: vs Pakistan, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
    Saturday, 25 October: vs Australia, Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore

    Proteas Women World Cup squad: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Chloé Tryon. Travelling reserve: Miané Smit.

    Photo: Matthew Lewis/ICC via Getty Images

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    Simon Borchardt