• Laura Wolvaardt is the new interim captain of the South African.
• She is looking forward to leading the team on their first-ever tour to Pakistan.
• She is expecting a tough battle against Pakistan but is confident her side can win.

Laura Wolvaardt, the interim captain of the South African women’s cricket team, is eagerly anticipating her first match in charge as they prepare to face Pakistan in a three-match T20I series in Karachi.

Wolvaardt was appointed as the interim captain, taking over from Sune Luus, just last week. The talented top-order batswoman is enthusiastic about commencing her leadership role with a series victory against Pakistan.

This tour marks a historic occasion as it is the first time that South Africa’s women’s team has toured Pakistan. Wolvaardt mentioned that all her teammates are filled with excitement about the opportunity to play in this Asian country.

“It is very exciting to be here,” Wolvaardt said ahead of the opening match of the series on Friday.

“It is an incredible journey to be here for the first historic tour to Pakistan and I think everyone is excited.

“We have had a couple of good training sessions here, we are looking forward to seeing how the pitch will play as it is new for all of us in the group.”

Wolvaardt has been a consistent presence in the South African team for several years, and at 24 years old, she was a natural pick to assume the captaincy. This decision came after Luus decided to step down from the role, just months after leading the Proteas to their first ICC final at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which was held in South Africa earlier in the year.

Wolvaardt shared that she had discussions with Luus to gain insights into what to expect in her new role. Additionally, she sought advice from various former captains and coaches who had played pivotal roles in her journey to the top.

“I have had chats with both (former South Africa captains) Sune (Luus) and Dane (van Niekerk) and just chatted about the opportunity and the experience,” Wolvaardt said.

“Captains that I have looked up to from other countries would be Meg Lanning and Heather Knight as I like how calm they are going about cricket and they never look fazed on the field.

“It has been a mixture of talking to people, even people who weren’t captains, like past coaches that I have had just to get as much advice as I can.

“Everyone goes about it in a different way so most of the advice I have gotten has been to be true to who I am and do it my own way.”

Pakistan will also be led by a new captain during the series, with Nida Dar now in charge of the Asian side following the resignation of Bismah Maroof earlier in the year.

Wolvaardt is expecting a tough battle against Pakistan and is confident her side has enough quality to blunt the dangerous hosts.

“It’s our first-ever tour to Pakistan, so the training sessions ahead of the T20I series will be very important to help us understand the conditions here,” she said.

“This is going to be a big series, a closely contested one. Pakistan is a very competitive side, and Nida is a very good captain.

“They have very talented young players on their side, so we are up for a very good series.”

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