Proteas must overcome pressure to reach World Cup final, says Wolvaardt

Having secured their place in another global semifinal, Proteas batter Laura Wolvaardt admits the hosts will need to find a way to handle the mental pressure if they want to progress to the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup in Cape Town.

Ending second in Pool A – sneaking through on net run rate after finishing equal on points with New Zealand and Sri Lanka – the SA women will face England in the second semifinal of the tournament on Friday. The first semifinal will be contested between defending champions Australia and India at the same venue on Thursday.

In the last four World Cup tournaments they have contested (in the T20 and ODI formats) the Proteas women have reached the semifinals three times, but their place in a global final remains elusive.

Mental strength

In order to progress to the trophy contest this week, Wolvaardt felt the key would be their ability to handle the pressure on home soil.

“We need to have a lot of discussions about how to stay mentally strong,” Wolvaardt said.

“I think we have the talent and the skill, it’s just a mental game in the semifinals.”

Wolvaardt led the charge on Tuesday night, as the Proteas secured a convincing victory over Bangladesh to cement their place in the semifinals.

Still in the hunt

Both openers – Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits – carried their bats through the innings, with Wolvaardt racking up 66 runs off 56 balls, while Brits contributed 50 runs off 51 deliveries.

Chasing 114 runs to win, they reached 117 without loss to wrap up the win with 13 balls to spare, keeping themselves in the hunt for the trophy.

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Preparing now for a crunch battle against England in the penultimate round, Wolvaardt was confident of their ability to beat the former T20 world champions and book their place in a maiden World Cup final.

“They’re a quality side and we’ve lost many semifinals against them, which is not ideal,” Wolvaardt said of their semifinal opponents.

“They play a very explosive, attacking brand of cricket, so I think we’re just going to have to have some discussions about how we can use that against them.”