E-Paper
Sign in
Like Pat Cummins, Laura Wolvaardt wants to silence the crowd by beating India in the World Cup final
Laura Wolvaardt, captain of South Africa, expressed her desire to overcome India in the Women’s ODI World Cup final and silence the home crowd.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt said her team would love to “silence” a packed Indian crowd by beating the hosts in Sunday’s Women’s ODI World Cup final — echoing Australian skipper Pat Cummins’ famous words before his side stunned India in the men’s 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
Speaking to reporters on the eve of the title clash at the DY Patil Stadium, Wolvaardt said the Proteas were not dwelling on past results, including their three consecutive wins over India since 2017, and were instead focused on producing their best cricket on the big day.
“Knockout cricket is completely different to league cricket. We’ve seen players do some very special things in knockout games, like we saw from Jemimah Rodrigues the other night,” said Wolvaardt, the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 470 runs. “We’re not thinking about our group game against them. We know we have to play really good cricket because India are a strong side and will be high on confidence.”
The South African skipper acknowledged that the home side would have the advantage of a massive crowd but added that the pressure of expectations might work in her team’s favour. “It’s going to be a very tough game with the whole crowd behind India — probably a sold-out stadium. It’ll be a very exciting opportunity, but at the same time, it puts a lot of pressure on them,” she said.
When asked how she planned to quieten the noise of the home supporters, Wolvaardt smiled and replied, “Hopefully we win. I guess that will silence them.”
Her remark immediately drew comparisons with Pat Cummins’ comment before the men’s final last year, when he had said he would love to silence more than a hundred thousand Indian fans at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium — and went on to do exactly that as Australia clinched their sixth title.
Wolvaardt, leading South Africa in their maiden ODI World Cup final, said her focus was on keeping her team calm amid the high-pressure atmosphere. “It’ll be important for us to stay as present as we can. There’ll be a lot of noise, a lot happening, but at the end of the day, it’s just a game of cricket. The team that does the basics for longer and holds their nerve will win,” she said.
