Captaining is really cool, says Wolvaardt
THE Proteas Women will conclude their hugely successful one-day international leg of their tour of India with the fifth ODI taking place in Lucknow today.
Coach Hilton Moreeng’s team made history over the weekend when they took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series with a record chase led by new world No 1 Lizelle Lee.
The team has also taken giant steps in their build-up to the World Cup in New Zealand next year with the development of fringe players like Lara Goodall.
The stylish left-hander previously endured a stop-start to her international career but has now looked to solidify her place in the side with a career-best 59 not out in the fourth ODI.
Moreeng has always wanted to create depth and competition for places in the squad, and suddenly the hard-hitting Chloe Tryon may not be an automatic selection upon her return from injury.
Furthermore, with the team already blessed with a senior core consisting of Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Suné Luus, Ayabonga Khaka, Lee and injured captain Dané van Niekerk, it has now developed a new leader too, in the form of Laura Wolvaardt.
Although the 21-year-old is routinely one of the first names penned on the team sheet due to her brilliance with the bat, it certainly bodes well that Wolvaardt has also had a taste of captaincy.
Wolvaardt was always going to be earmarked as a future leader of the national team, but the fact that she has shown that she actually enjoys the extra responsibility is a good omen.
“Previously I was just very focused on my own game and trying to solidify my spot in the side,” Wolvaardt said yesterday.
“To get this opportunity (to captain) as a young cricketer is really cool and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
“Hopefully I can learn a lot from it as a cricketer and we still have two great other captains in Dané and Suné, so I’ll just keep learning from them and see what happens in a whole bunch of years’ time.”
She will mostly likely not get another opportunity for a while, though, with Luus expected to return to the team with the all-rounder doing “much better” after being injured in the warm-up ahead of the third ODI.