"I could not be prouder of this team, but they outplayed...": Laura Wolvaardt after defeat in Women's CWC final

Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 3 (ANI): South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt expressed pride in her team's campaign in the Women's World Cup 2025 despite losing the final to India and revealed that it was the last CWC for her teammate Marizanne Kapp.
Wolvaardt also commended India's Shafali Verma for her outstanding batting. She felt India batted well in the final and that her team's bowling was strong throughout the tournament.
India finally broke their world title drought, securing their maiden ICC Women's World Cup title by beating first-time finalists South Africa by 52 runs in a clinical display at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
"I could not be prouder of this team for the campaign we had. Brilliant cricket throughout, but outplayed today (by India). Unfortunate to be on the losing side, but we will definitely grow from this. (On coming back from 69 all out and 97 all out against Australia) We did so well to put those couple of bad games behind us. We were either really good or really bad, but thankfully more of the really good. Amazing tournament for a lot of the players, and proud of the resilience we showed. (Balancing batting and captaincy) Probably did not have my best year leading into the World Cup and did not start it well. Overthinking, it was not good. It is just another game of cricket, trying to separate the two, and that sort of freed me up a bit to play my natural game and then focus on the captaincy at a different time," Wolvaardt said after the match.
"We were hoping for a little bit more (swing). There was still something in it, so still feel it was the right call to bowl. We were in it for a lot of the chase but lost too many wickets. I kept checking Shafali. She batted excellently. That is the way she plays. When it comes off, she can really hurt teams. (On Kapp) She has been phenomenal for so many editions. Really sad it is going to be her last one. The whole group wanted to win it for her. She is two players in one and very happy she is on our team," she further said.
Wolvaardt once again stood tall for her side, scoring a brilliant 101 off 98 balls in the Women's World Cup final against India in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. The 26-year-old batter enjoyed a record-breaking campaign, finishing as the highest run-getter in a single World Cup edition. Wolvaardt amassed 571 runs in 9 innings at an outstanding average of 71.37, which included two centuries and three fifties.
With this performance, Wolvaardt also cemented her place among the all-time greats of the women's game. She now has 1,328 runs in 24 World Cup matches, featuring two hundreds and 12 half-centuries, inching closer to New Zealand legend Debbie Hockley, who holds the record with 1,501 runs in the tournament's history.
Her consistency has been remarkable. Wolvaardt now holds the record for the most 50-plus scores in Women's World Cup history with 14 such innings in just 24 matches, surpassing the likes of Mithali Raj (13 in 36 innings), Debbie Hockley (12 in 43 innings), and Charlotte Edwards (11 in 28 innings). (ANI)