South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt said her record-breaking century in the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final win over England was very special, as her childhood dream got fulfilled.
Laura’s masterful 169 off 143 balls — her 10th ODI ton laced with 20 fours and four sixes — powered South Africa to a commanding 125-run win over England at the ACA Stadium, and booked a place in their first-ever 50-over World Cup final. “It still feels a bit unreal. That’s sort of the thing that you dream about as a kid, scoring 100 in a World Cup, knockout game as well. Very special day and I’m so glad we won in the end,” she said.
Reflecting on her 116-run opening stand with Tazmin Brits, Laura said, “We knew the start would be crucial. I think Taz [Brits] and I have been really strong at the top of the order, and we’ve done well. We’ve sort of picked up the rest of the line-up, so really happy we were able to get that partnership up front.”
She admitted to being focused on anchoring the innings through the middle overs before launching into a late assault. “We did end up in front quite early. It was a decent wicket, so we just wanted to keep going. Really nice that we got to a big score because it was a pretty flat wicket out there. In the back of my mind, I knew I had better shots, but I was really just wanting to get to the 40th over. So, happy to go a few of those leg-side boundaries,” added Wolvaardt who equalled Mithali Raj’s record (13) for the most 50-plus scores at Women’s World Cups.
England’s England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt expressed disappointment at being knocked out before the final: “This will hurt, but in time, we’ll take the learnings from it and move forward because we’ve made some great strides so far in quite a short space of time. To beat the best teams, you have to be at your best and we’ll come back stronger.”
13
Record number of 50-plus scores at Women’s World Cups by Laura Wolvaardt, equalling India’s Mithali Raj