Cricket South Africa has appointed Laura Wolvaardt as the Protea women’s permanent captain for all three formats of the game.
Wolvaardt takes over the reins after a successful tenure as interim captain, where she led the team in back-to-back ODI series victories against New Zealand and the T20I series against Pakistan.
The 24-year-old Wolvaardt took over from Sune Luus who captained the SA women during the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
Luus had stepped in for former skipper Dane van Niekerk, who struggled for form and fitness and subsequently retired.
Proteas Women Convenor of Selectors, Clinton du Preez said this appointment bodes well with the federation’s succession plan.
“Having Laura Wolvaardt as the official captain, together with a blend of young and experienced players bodes well for our succession planning.
“It will also assist within the excitement we have around the squad in giving young players an opportunity and therefore we are looking forward to seeing them put up their hand and make impactful performances in this upcoming tour.” said du Preez.
The top order batter will be leading the team as a full-time captain for the first time in the white-ball series against Bangladesh at home starting on 3 December.
The Proteas Women squad to compete in the three-match ODI series will be announced ahead of the 50-over series to take place in East London, Potchefstroom and Benoni between 16 and 23 December.
The ODI matches are part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 (IWC) in pursuit of qualification for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.
Wolvaardt has already raked up some hours on the field with the national team.
She appeared in 86 ODIs and 59 T20Is, recording 3 421 runs with 30 fifties and four hundreds in the 50-over format.
She will be looking to lead the 15-player SA squad to another successful series when they host Bangladesh in a three-match T20i and three-match ODI series, respectively.
The white ball tour will run between 3 and 23 December.
