Proteas Women captain Laura Wolvaardt revealed that a new-look playing XI will take the field in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Ireland Women.
South Africa dominated the recently concluded T20I series, winning 2-0, after the third and final match was abandoned due to rain at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Wednesday evening.
The squad will now switch focus to the ODIs, with the first of three matches set to start in East London on Saturday.
The Proteas Women head into the ODI series high in confidence, having reached the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in Navi Mumbai last month. This three-match series will be the team’s first ODI assignment since falling short against India Women in the final.
Captain Wolvaardt expressed excitement within the squad about playing a format in which they have proved to be world beaters.
The skipper highlighted that they will field a new-look side for the series as they aim to test their depth and build towards the 2029 Women’s World Cup. South Africa also expect the visitors, Ireland Women, to offer more resistance after being dominated during the recent T20I series.
“We are very excited for the series to start. It’s obviously a format we’ve played a lot of lately, but in saying that it’s a bit of a new-look squad compared to what we had at the World Cup,” Wolvaardt said.
“We have a couple of new bowlers; as a captain, I’ll have to chat to them, see what their plans are, but I’m looking forward to it and looking forward to seeing the depth we have within the country. Some youngsters will be getting great opportunities in this series, so I’m looking forward to seeing them play.
“I think Ireland are a very good side and they’ll definitely be bouncing back hard after this series, so we’ll have to be at our best.”
With the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup only a few months away, Wolvaardt expressed disappointment that the team couldn’t take the field in Benoni on Wednesday. She also praised the performances of Player of the Series Sune Luus and returning Dane van Niekerk.
“Disappointed not to get on. I think we were really looking forward to playing at Benoni, with the nice crowd that came out as well – it’s unfortunate,” she said.
“But we are very pleased with the series win. I think it’s been a while since we’ve had a series win on home soil, so we’re very excited and pleased that we were able to start our campaign post-World Cup with a win.
“We had some great individual performances. Sune obviously the player of the series, Dane’s comeback – she played pretty well. We also had a lot of different batters chipping in to push those 200-plus scores, so we’re very pleased with that.
“Bowling-wise, we had a few opportunities with the ball and the spinners, especially Borland, bowled pretty well, so we’re pleased.”
The ODI series will get underway in East London on Saturday, move to Gqeberha next Tuesday, and conclude in Johannesburg on Saturday, December 19.
