Laura Wolvaardt — A skipper who steps up when it matters most

Sportsperson of the Year Winner: A sportsperson whose positive impact has been felt on and off the field.

By her own admission and the high standards she has set for herself over the years, Proteas Women captain Laura Wolvaardt (26) did not have the best start to 2025. But, as she has done throughout an international cricket career that spans just under a decade, she rose to the occasion when needed.

Wolvaardt was instrumental in the Proteas’ ICC Women’s World Cup campaign two months ago. Her calculated and technique-driven batting steered the team to the final, where they suffered a 52-run loss to India.

Leading from the front, Wolvaardt smashed 571 runs in nine games, a Women’s World Cup record, and ended the showpiece as the top run scorer.

Her overall haul came at a magnificent average of 71.37. Only the Australian pair of Ashleigh Gardner (82.00) and Alyssa Healy (74.75) had better averages. Still, both finished the tournament more than 200 runs behind Wolvaardt’s majestic tally.

Of her total haul, 270 runs came in just two matches. First, she bagged a sensational century in the semifinal victory over England. She smashed 169 to help the Proteas pummel the English by a comfortable 125 runs, thus reaching their maiden one-day international final and adding to a pair of T20 World Cup finals.

This century by the opening batter now stands as the highest-ever score by a South African at a Women’s World Cup. Then, just for good measure, she notched up another century when she scored 101 in the final against India in Navi Mumbai.

On the way to this ton, she brought up a 14th 50-over World Cup half-century. Wolvaardt surpassed Indian legend Mithali Raj (who has 13 World Cup 50s), marking a new record at the tournament.

When the World Cup ended, Wolvaardt was selected for the International Cricket Council’s official dream team for the tournament. She was even named its captain.

Disappointed, however, she did not mince her words during the Proteas homecoming press conference, saying she would swap her record runs for a Proteas World Cup title victory.

“It’s obviously nice to score runs. But at the end of the day, if I could trade that for [the team] winning the final, I’d do that really quickly. It’s a bit bittersweet. As a cricketer, my main goal is to win a World Cup trophy.”

Like any other elite-level sport, cricket is an extremely onerous undertaking. This is doubly true for someone such as Wolvaardt, who demands so much of herself before others demand it of her.

More to come

Proteas coach Mandla Mashimbyi expects Wolvaardt to just keep improving – both as a leader and a cricketer. This is something that will strengthen the team even more and hopefully deliver that elusive World Cup trophy.

“Laura has shown a great deal of mental fortitude in terms of her talent, and how she’s led the team as well. She’s also grown in this tournament [the 2025 World Cup]. That’s why I say going forward this team will be even stronger,” Mashimbyi said.

Coming from a family of academics, Wolvaardt also made time to obtain a BSc degree in life sciences – cum laude – this year, shortly before the World Cup.

All in all, it’s been a really good year for her individually, as well as for her team, and she is undoubtedly a legend in the making.

She’ll have another opportunity to try for a trophy at the T20 Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by England and Wales next year. DM

Runners-up

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Ox Nché marked this year with broken records and memorable performances, cementing themselves not only in DM’s people of the year, but in South African rugby history.

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.