Cricket South Africa (CSA) revealed on Thursday (August 24) that Laura Wolvaardt will take on the mantle of interim captain for the South Africa women's cricket team for their forthcoming series against Pakistan and New Zealand. This decision was prompted by Sune Luus stepping down from her role, a position she held for nearly two years during Dane van Niekerk's hiatus, combined with vice-captain Chloe Tryon's unavailability for the Pakistan series.
"It's a massive honour to be offered this position as captain for the next two tours," Wolvaardt said.
"It's something that I have always aspired to do, having played in this team for a couple of years. Having more of a leadership role is something I've wanted to take on. It'll help me as a cricketer and learning to think as a captain on the field will hopefully help my batting as well.
"I'm very excited to be able to contribute in another way too, and not just in batting. It still feels surreal at the moment but it will all become more real when I meet up with the team in Pakistan," she added.
Wolvaardt has played 1 Test, 80 ODIs, and 53 T20Is. CSA announced that Wolvaardt's leadership role will undergo a review after the series with New Zealand concludes.
The leadership vacuum in the South African women's cricket squad became evident post van Niekerk's retirement announcement in March. The renowned player decided to step away from international cricket soon after her omission from the World Cup squad due to her inability to clear a fitness test. In an interesting turn of events, CSA recently opted to eliminate the fitness test criteria for team selection, vesting this power directly with the coaches. This move could potentially pave the way for several seasoned players, van Niekerk included, to reconsider their early retirement decisions.
"Congratulations to Laura on her appointment as the captain of the Proteas Women's team for the upcoming tours. Laura's dedication, leadership acumen, and cricketing prowess have been evident throughout her," CSA Director of Cricket, Enoch Nkwe said.
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