Wolvaardt confident as Proteas Women face England in World Cup semi-final

The Proteas Women are determined to deliver their best performance as they prepare to face England in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 semi-final at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.

The team is aiming to reach its first-ever final in the 50-over format.

Captain Laura Wolvaardt outlined the team's approach to the crucial clash, emphasising the importance of staying focused and trusting their strengths against a familiar rival.

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“We've had a great tournament so far. As a group, we're trying to focus on the positives, sticking to our game plans, and doing what we do best. If we just keep playing the way that we have, we'll have a really good shot at winning tomorrow," she said.

The knockout encounter is scheduled to begin at 15h00 local time (11h30 SAST).

"We want to win tomorrow, and so do they. It's a semi-final, anything can happen, so if we just play our best cricket, it'll be a really good game,” the skipper noted.

Encounters between South Africa and England have become a recurring feature in ICC tournaments, with the two sides meeting at the semi-final stage of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cups in 2017 and 2022, as well as in the historic 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final at Newlands, where the Proteas triumphed to become the first senior South African team to reach a World Cup final.

In the current 50-over campaign, South Africa began their tournament with a heavy 10-wicket defeat to England at the same venue. They then bounced back in outstanding fashion, securing five consecutive victories against New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, before losing to defending champions Australia in a top-of-the-table contest.

Reflecting on the team’s recent experiences in World Cup knockout matches, including back-to-back semi-final wins in the shorter format in 2023 and 2024, Wolvaardt expressed her hope that those moments will help the Proteas Women maintain composure under pressure.

“We've had some success in ICC tournaments. Obviously, a totally different format, but that semi-final loss against England was four years ago,"Wolvaardt said.

"We're a totally different-looking side. They've got a lot of different players as well. So I think it's sort of a fresh opportunity, and it starts from zero. I'm looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we're able to learn from those semi-final victories that we've got and maybe stay a bit calmer under pressure.”