South Africa collapse in their Women’s World Cup opener

South Africa’s collapse in their Women’s World Cup opener against England was down to “one of those days where the top order and the middle order failed on the same day”, according to their captain Laura Wolvaardt. Sent in to bat in Guwahati, South Africa were bowled out for 69, their third-lowest total in women’s ODIs, and lost by ten wickets.

Wolvaardt insisted they were “much better than 69 all out” and backed her side to bounce back. “I think our prep has been good, I don’t think there were too many demons in the pitch,” she said after the match. “It was just one of those days where everyone went out early and that happens in cricket sometimes. It was not a pitch that we were super foreign to. We spent a lot of time in these conditions in the last couple of months, so definitely wouldn’t put it on the wicket.

“We are much, much better than 69 all out. As a group, 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.” South Africa knew what to expect from England, who had two kinds of left-arm spinners, with Sophie Ecclestone’s release point being much higher than that of Linsey Smith.

On the eve of the match, South Africa’s batting coach Baakier Abrahams oversaw Wolvaardt’s preparation against left-arm spin closely. He specifically asked the net bowlers to change angles and bowl from wide of the crease as well. The focus was on her footwork and shot selection, and Abrahams reminded her of the forward defence with a straight bat. At one point, he praised her shot selection to a particular ball but pointed out that her head was falling over. Towards the end of her stint that lasted nearly 45 minutes, he nodded in approval.