South Africa’s Women’s World Cup campaign began with a jolt in Guwahati, England skittling them for 69 before coasting to a ten-wicket win. Captain Laura Wolvaardt accepted the scoreline looked brutal yet stressed it was simply, in her words, “one of those days where the top order and the middle order failed on the same day”.
Key facts first. Sent in on a surface that offered modest grip but little else, South Africa collapsed to their third-lowest ODI total. Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith and new-ball partner Lauren Bell shared five wickets, England’s chase lasted only 12.4 overs and the points were banked before lunch.
Wolvaardt’s immediate reaction was measured. “I think our prep has been good, I don’t think there were too many demons in the pitch,” she said. “It was just one of those days where everyone went out early and that happens in cricket sometimes.” She dismissed any suggestion that the conditions were alien: “We spent a lot of time in these conditions in the last couple of months, so definitely wouldn’t put it on the wicket.”
The skipper’s clearest message to her players arrived soon after: “We are much, much better than 69 all out. As a group, we just need to put it behind us as quickly as we can and move forward, because if we’re going to take that into the next game, it’s going to be a very long tournament for us.”
Preparation, South Africa feel, had been thorough. England’s attack features two contrasting left-arm spinners, Sophie Ecclestone releasing from well above the eyeline, Smith a little flatter and quicker. On the eve of the match batting coach Baakier Abrahams asked net bowlers to mimic both left-armers, even changing the angle wide of the crease. Wolvaardt spent close to 45 minutes fine-tuning her footwork, Abrahams reminding her to stay tall in defence, praising a crisp cover-drive one minute then noting a head-tilt the next.
Yet on game day those plans unravelled in a hurry. Smith needed only two deliveries to have Wolvaardt chipping a tame return catch. Inswing then ripped through Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp; 12 for 4 after 5.1 overs felt terminal.
“You can’t really fault our preparation. Yesterday, personally, I was super specific in my training,” Wolvaardt reflected later. “I had someone bowl like Lauren Bell would and I had the left-armer [bowling] at me. I had already planned which guard I would take and what my options were and what my strong options were. To have that soft dismissal today was very disappointing with all the preparation that we had put in. We’ve been very well-informed by all of our coaches. It’s just one of those days where we played the wrong line for the ball swinging in.”
While South Africa’s batting has been widely viewed as their stronger suit over the last 18 months, this defeat drags the engine-room – numbers three to six – into the spotlight. Since the start of 2023 the Proteas have sat among the top ODI run-scorers, largely on the back of the prolific Wolvaardt-Brits opening combination. When that pair falls early, the middle order must absorb pressure; on Friday it managed 15 runs between four players.
Former South Africa all-rounder Mignon du Preez, commentating for the host broadcaster, kept her verdict succinct. “England executed, South Africa froze. But one bad day does not erase twelve solid months of batting returns.” Bowling coach Dillon du Preez echoed that sentiment in the dressing-room, according to team sources, pointing out the attack never had a chance to apply pressure with only 70 to defend.
There is no immediate panic within the camp. A short turnaround sees South Africa face Bangladesh on the same ground, a match they were always expected to win but which now feels important for confidence as much as points. Assistant coach Salieg Nackerdien hinted at a gentle reset rather than wholesale change: “The skill is there; it’s mindset, clarity, tiny technical tweaks.” Expect at least one extra batting session against slow left-arm in the build-up, though the staff are wary of over-correcting.
From England’s perspective, the outing was close to ideal. Smith’s 3 for 16 strengthened her claim for a permanent first-choice berth, Ecclestone’s tidy four overs kept pressure on at the other end and Bell’s fuller length with the new ball underlined her growing versatility. Captain Heather Knight praised the collective discipline while warning that sterner tests await.
South Africa now have two days to shift the narrative. A calm message, delivered repeatedly by their captain, will be central: “We are much, much better than 69 all out.”
