Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt offered up a candid review of her side’s heavy World Cup defeat to England, as they look to enact a tournament revival plan.
South Africa had a nightmare of a start in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, after they were bowled out for just 69 by an English attack that gave the Proteas batters all kinds of trouble.
Wolvaardt’s dismissal was the first wicket to tumble, setting the tone for a painful contest. England’s onslaught was relentless, completing the demolition in under 21 overs. Four English bowlers picked up multiple wickets, bested by Linsey Smith’s 3/7 off four overs.
Focus on bouncing back
Intrigue now surrounds South Africa’s ability to bounce back quickly. This ahead of their meeting with New Zealand in Indore on Monday. Wolvaardt remains optimistic about their tournament chances, chalking down their capitulation as “one of those days”.
“We just didn’t apply ourselves well enough with the bat,” she said post-game.
“I think (England) bowled really well, I think there was a lot of swing around early. I think Linsey Smith was excellent with the new ball. And I think it was just one of those days with the bat. Where the top order failed and the middle order failed on the same day.
“I think we are much, much better than 69 all out. As a group, I think 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.”
Wolvaardt maintains that there weren’t any warning signs, as they prepared for the tournament, to suggest a first-up showing like that.
Put in their best game
“You can’t really fault our preparation. I think our plans were decent, and we tried to cover all bases in training.
“For me, I was super specific in my training … So, having that soft dismissal was very disappointing. With all the preparation that we had put in. But I think we need to just park this game as quickly as we can.
“We still have six other games to play. Still a lot of time to rectify it. Obviously, you want to start the tournament with a win. It’s never nice losing your first game.
“But parking (the loss) and moving going forward as quickly as you can onto that New Zealand game is what we’re going to have to do,” she added.
On Monday, the Proteas will be going up against a New Zealand side that is also wounded following their loss against defending champions Australia.
