Laura Wolvaardt

International career

Laura Wolvaardt is one of South Africa's leading cricketers. She began her career at a very young age and has achieved many milestones throughout her journey.

• 2013: At the age of 13, Wolvaardt was invited to play for the South Africa Women's U-19 invitational team. She was named the 2013 Cricket South Africa U-19 Female Cricketer of the Year.
• 2016:
  • February: She made her Women's One Day International debut at just 16 years old against England.
  • August: At 17, Wolvaardt became the youngest South African to score a century in international cricket. She made 105 runs against Ireland Women.
• 2017: Wolvaardt received the Women's Newcomer of the Year award at Cricket South Africa's annual awards.
• 2018:
  • March: She was awarded a national contract by Cricket South Africa, being one of fourteen players selected.
  • October: Wolvaardt was included in South Africa's squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 in the West Indies.
• 2020:
  • January: She was selected for South Africa's squad for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.
  • July: Wolvaardt was named in South Africa’s 24-woman squad to start training for their planned tour to England.
• 2022:
  • February: She was named in South Africa’s squad for the 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
  • May: Wolvaardt played for the Barmy Army team at the 2022 FairBreak Invitational T20 in Dubai. She scored 186 runs at a strike rate of 116.25.
  • June: Wolvaardt made her Test debut for South Africa against England.
  • July: She was named in the South Africa team for the cricket event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
• 2024:
  • March: Wolvaardt scored her first T20I century against Sri Lanka.
  • July: She became only the third woman to score a century in all three formats of international cricket (WODI, WTest, and WT20I), with a century in her Test match against India.
  • Wolvaardt was named captain of South Africa for the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup and the home series against England in November.
  • She was shortlisted for the 2024 ICC Awards in the categories of Women’s Cricketer of the Year, Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, and Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year.

Wolvaardt's career shows her growth and leadership in the world of women's cricket, making her a standout player for South Africa.

Leagues Participation

Laura Wolvaardt has played in several major franchise leagues.

Women’s Premier League (WPL)

In 2023, Laura started her career in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) with Gujarat Giants.

Year	Team	Matches Played	Performance Highlights
2023	Gujarat Giants	4	Scored 250 points in her first season
2024	Gujarat Giants	1 (13th match)	Scored 76 points from 45 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore
2025	Gujarat Giants	-	Retained for the 2025 season after WPL auction in Dec 2024

Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL)

Laura played for Brisbane Heat during the 2017-18 season but started her main journey with Adelaide Strikers in 2021. In her first season with Adelaide, she scored 347 points across 14 matches and became the top scorer for her team. In 2023, she continued to perform well as an opening batter, scoring 363 points in 14 matches. She made key contributions with scores like 70 runs against Sydney Thunder and 73 runs in her last match of the season against Hobart Hurricanes.

Year	Team	Matches Played	Performance Highlights
2017-18	Brisbane Heat	-	Part of the squad but did not play a match
2021	Adelaide Strikers	14	Scored 347 points, top scorer for the team
2023	Adelaide Strikers	14	Scored 363 points, including 70 runs against Sydney Thunder and 73 runs against Hobart Hurricanes

The Hundred

Laura joined The Hundred in its first season in 2021. She was again bought by Manchester Originals for the 2022 season. She was a key player for her team, scoring 37 runs from 27 balls in her first match. In the final game, she hit 78 runs from 52 balls, helping the team win by 6 wickets.

Year	Team	Matches Played	Performance Highlights
2021	Manchester Originals	-	Selected for the first season
2022	Manchester Originals	-	Key player, scored 37 runs from 27 balls in first match, 78 runs from 52 balls in the final match

Domestic career

At the age of 13, Laura Wolvaardt joined the Western Province U-19 girls' team. In October 2013, she played her first match for the Western Province women’s cricket team in a Twenty20 game against Boland. She scored 13 runs off 18 balls. A month later, she debuted in limited-overs cricket, playing against Boland and scoring 4 runs off 14 balls.

Laura stood out as the top scorer during the 2013 Cricket South Africa Under-19 Girls Week. She returned to represent Western Province in 2014. In 2015/16, she played a key role in helping Western Province win the Women's Provincial League for the fourth straight year. She scored 46 runs in the final match.

In 2017, Laura joined Brisbane Heat for the 2017–18 Women's Big Bash League season. She stayed with the team for the 2018–19 season, playing in the final against Sydney Sixers, which Heat won.

Laura later signed with Adelaide Strikers for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 WBBL seasons. In 2019, she also played for Terblanche XI in the inaugural Women's T20 Super League in South Africa. In 2021, Northern Superchargers drafted her for The Hundred, and she was selected for the 2022 season. In 2022, she led Northern Superchargers to victory over Manchester Originals by scoring 90 runs from 49 balls. She also scored 50 runs off 35 balls in a match against Southern Brave, helping her team win.

Records and achievements

Laura Wolvaardt has had a successful cricket career, receiving many awards and breaking several records. Here is a summary of her achievements:

2024 Awards:

• Women’s Player of the Year
  In 2024, Laura Wolvaardt won the Women’s Player of the Year award. She beat Marizanne Kapp, Tazmin Brits, and Masabata Klaas to earn this recognition. Wolvaardt was the leading run-scorer for South Africa in T20I cricket, with 311 runs at an average of 44.42. Her best moment was on August 27, 2024, when she scored 102 runs off 63 balls, marking her first T20I century against Sri Lanka.
• Women’s ODI Player of the Year
  Wolvaardt was named Women’s ODI Player of the Year. She scored 542 runs in 9 innings with an average of 90.33, leading the run charts for South Africa. Her best performance came on April 17, 2024, when she scored an unbeaten 184* against Sri Lanka, setting a career-high in ODI cricket.
• Women’s T20I Player of the Year
  Wolvaardt received the Women’s T20I Player of the Year award, beating nominees like Masabata Klaas and Tazmin Brits. She scored 311 runs in T20I matches, including a century against Sri Lanka. Marizanne Kapp finished second with 295 runs in 9 innings.
• Women’s Player’s Player of the Year
  Wolvaardt won the Player’s Player of the Year award, as voted by her teammates. Her leadership and respect within the team earned her this honor.
• Fan’s Player of the Year
  Due to her consistent performances and the respect she gained from her fans, Wolvaardt was named Fan’s Player of the Year, surpassing competitors such as Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, and Nonkululeko Mlaba.

Other Career Awards:

• 2017 Female Newcomer of the Year
  In May 2017, Wolvaardt was awarded the Female Newcomer of the Year at Cricket South Africa's (CSA) annual awards.
• South Africa’s Women’s Cricketer of the Year (2020)
  In July 2020, she was named South Africa's Women’s Cricketer of the Year at the CSA Awards.
• ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year (2021)
  Wolvaardt was part of the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year during the 2021 ICC Awards.

Records:

• 6000 Career Runs
  By October 7, 2024, Wolvaardt reached 6000 runs in white-ball cricket. She scored 4,148 runs in 98 ODI matches with an average of 49.38 and 1,866 runs in 74 T20I matches, making her total 6014 runs across both formats.
• Highest ODI Score
  Her highest score in ODI cricket is 122 runs, which she achieved against India on June 28, 2024.
• Youngest South African to Score an International Century
  Wolvaardt holds the record as the youngest South African, male or female, to score a century in international cricket.

Personal life

Laura Wolvaardt is not married and has no children. Her father, Frederik Wolvaardt, works as a nuclear engineer and holds a master's degree in paleontology. Her mother, Jessi Wolvaardt, works as a language trainer at BLCC and has experience teaching Dutch. Laura's brother, Luca Wolvaardt, is training to become a professional golfer.

Financial Status

As of 2024, Laura Wolvaardt has a net worth of $1 million. She earns income from her cricket contracts, endorsements, and sponsorships.

Cars and House

Information about Laura Wolvaardt's cars and house is not available.

Scandals

In December 2024, Laura Wolvaardt was reprimanded for violating the ICC Level 1 Code of Conduct during a test match against England. She showed frustration with the umpire's decision in the 45th over of South Africa's first innings. As a result, one penalty point was added to her disciplinary record.

Fans

Laura Wolvaardt has a strong following on social media, where fans celebrate her performances. For example, in July 2024, her fans celebrated her century in a test match against India on Twitter, receiving positive reactions. She has about 200k followers on Instagram.