Proteas Women ready to make their mark at ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup

The wait is almost over. Eight of the top nations in the world have gathered in India and Sri Lanka for the 13th edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, set to take place from September 30 to November 2.

The showpiece event returns to the subcontinent for the first time since 2013, when India hosted the tournament. However, this time, the tournament returns even bigger, with a record total prize fund of $13.88 million — more than that of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 — with the winner’s purse worth $4.48 million.

Without surprise, the seven-time champions, Australia Women, are favourites to win the tournament. However, many are also backing the hosts, India Women, and several other strong teams from the subcontinent, including Sri Lanka Women, Bangladesh Women, and Pakistan Women.

Among the tournament hopefuls are the ever-humble underdogs, South Africa, led by the soft-spoken Laura Wolvaardt. Despite many tipping certain sides as favourites, South Africa captain Wolvaardt believes there are no guaranteed winners in a tournament of this nature.

The 26-year-old believes the key to success is keeping your head down and taking the tournament one game at a time.

“I think in a tournament like this, every team is a big team. There’s no single team or two that are set up to win it,” Wolvaardt said during the Captain’s Day. “In these conditions, it really brings a lot of the subcontinent teams into the game, so I think our strategy for the tournament will be to take it one game at a time and not think about big names.”

Wolvaardt is currently leading a team with a number of renowned superstars, including Marizanne Kapp, arguably the best all-rounder the women’s game has ever seen. The likes of Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka, Tazmin Brits, and Sune Luus have been around the block for many years, and no team will take them lightly in the tournament.

However, those who have been following the Proteas Women will know there are more genuine stars in this side than those already mentioned. One is Annerie Dercksen, whose recent success in Sri Lanka earlier this year sent a clear message — she is a pace-bowling all-rounder who means business.

Nonkululeko Mlaba may be known for her impressive record in the shortest format of the game; however, her presence in 50-over cricket deserves equal respect. The list of impact players goes on.

India plays Sri Lanka in the opening match in Guwahati on 30 September, while Australia begin their defence of the title a day later against New Zealand in Indore. Visakhapatnam, Navi Mumbai, and Colombo are the other cities where the round-robin tournament will be played.

The 13th edition of the ICC Women’s World Cup is being run by an all-female panel of match officials. All senior global women’s events since 2023 have had all-female match officials — a landmark moment for the game.