Africans of the Year: Laura Wolvaardt
All hail the all-rounder
Firdose Moonda
Laura Wolvaardt is not even 30 years old, but she’s Africa’s leading female cricketer and one of the world’s best. She is already into her 10th year as an international sportsperson and her third as the captain of the South African women’s cricket team. She is also their top batter. No one has scored more runs for South Africa and she is the first from the country to reach 5,000 one-day international (ODI) runs and 2,000 in Twenty20 (T20) internationals. She has achieved all that while completing a Bachelor of Science degree – cum laude – and keeping her dream of becoming a doctor alive.
Wolvaardt secured a spot in medical school, but gave that up when she was picked for the national cricket side in 2016. She was initially lauded for her technical perfection, with one of the smoothest cover drives in the game, but was shy and reserved as she found her feet. Seven years later, she was given the captaincy and has thrived under the responsibility.
In 2025, she hit the fastest 50 and 100 by a South African woman in T20 international cricket, but those were the least of her achievements.
She also captained South Africa to their first ODI World Cup final. Wolvaardt was the leading run-scorer in the tournament, became the first captain to score a century in a Women’s World Cup knockout match, and the only one to also score a hundred in the final. Although South Africa did not return from India with the trophy, they reinforced their credentials as one of the best outfits in the global game.
Wolvaardt is regarded as a smart tactician who manages her players with maturity and has united a squad from diverse backgrounds in pursuit of one goal: excellence. Did we mention she also fancies herself as a musician? She plays the guitar and sings in an amateur band.