Johannesburg - Proteas batting star Laura Wolvaard has revealed what happened in the dressing room after the team’s crushing defeat to England in the semi-final of the Cricket World Cup last week.
“Obviously, everyone was very disappointed. There were many tears,” Wolvaardt told the Saturday Star this week.
“We were were just comforting each other and trying to make the best of a really not-so-nice situation.”
The Proteas’ objective of becoming the first South African team to reach a World Cup final came to a disappointing halt at the Hagley Oval outfield, as they were crushed by 137 runs against a buoyant English team.
Wolvaardt says while the team was heartbroken, they took the time to focus on the positives and enjoyed a ‘special moment’ in the dressing room.
“We reflected on what had been a pretty successful three months together as a unit until that semi-final, so it was important to look at it that way and look at all the positives because it was a long journey and a long road to get there and over the last four years.
“We've had a lot of positive moments, and the progress we've made has been incredible. So to be able to look back and reflect on that and not harp on the loss too much was great.”
She admits, however, that not having made the final was devastating.
“It was hard to lose that semi-final. As a team, we definitely set out to make the final and do one better than we did in a tournament last time around. But overall, there were very good signs, having beaten big teams such as New Zealand, England, and India in the group stages.
“I think a couple of years ago, nobody would have expected us to beat all three of those teams, so doing that was a great sign for the team moving forward. We are just going to have to find a way of passing that semi-final stage.”
Despite not making the final, the Proteas again reaffirmed their status as one of the best cricketing teams in the world, defeating some of the biggest nations in the world.
Wolvaardt, all-rounder Marizanne Kapp, and fast bowler Shabnim Ismail were all selected in the star-studded International Cricket Council's (ICC) Women's World Cup Most Valuable Team of the tournament.
Wolvaardt had a stunning campaign for her country as she ended as the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament.
In her eight games, she ended with 433 runs at an average of 54.12.
She scored a whopping five half-centuries in the tournament, tying the record for the most fifties in a single tournament alongside Deborah Hockley in 1988 and Elysse Perry in 2017.
While pleased with her performances with the bat, Wolvaardt said she was disappointed that the team couldn’t go all the way.
“I think, overall, the tournament was a bit of a mixed bag for me. We played some good cricket throughout the group stages. We had some very stressful and tight games, and we had some games where we played really well but then obviously, losing the semi-final was very disappointing.
“So a couple of ups and downs in the month, but very upset that we didn't go all the way to the final. That being said, I think it could have gone worse,” she says giggling.
“We could have lost in the group stages. Obviously, we would have liked to have made the final. That was the goal from the outset, to make the final being the number two ranked team in the world. But overall, there were glimpses of good cricket from us, so we will learn from it and take the positives.”
Wolvaardt has also given an honest assessment on the team's performance in the semi-final, describing it as “bad in all three departments”.
“Cricket is a funny game, and sometimes you have those games where the whole team doesn't turn up. I think we were bad in all three departments. We didn't bowl very well, we didn't field very well, and we definitely didn't bat very well.
“We were kind of searching for the perfect game throughout the whole tournament. We showed glimmmers of good batting, setting up 270 against Australia and chasing over 270 against India.
“We were completely outplayed by England, who were playing some good cricket and peaking at the right time.”
“Overall, Wolvaardt said she was happy, but "still a bit disappointed about not scoring a hundred or two hundred’s or many hundreds in the World Cup.”
“That was my one main goal: to set good foundations for the team, and then secondly on a personal level to score a hundred or two in the World Cup, and I had many chances to do that, so obviously I am very disappointed.
“But I was happy with the way I set up a lot of the games for the team. I laid the platform in a lot of the games and allowed the team to bat around me, which I think was my job heading into the tournament.
“I am also happy that I was able to contribute, but would have loved to have gotten that personal milestone.”
She says the team also showed the progress that they have made over the last few years.
“If you look at all the statistics from the tournament, Australia is quite a bit above the rest of the teams, but then after them, our team, New Zealand, England, and India, we are all very similar statistically.”
“I think we are definitely competing with them and having some really tight and well-contested games against some of the bigger countries in the world, so we are right up there.
“In the last World Cup, we were almost a wild card getting into the semis, but now I feel that it was sort of expected that we would make the semi-finals, so there's definitely been a lot of improvements in our game.”