Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: Laura Wolvaardt determined to put past demons behind

South Africa Women’s skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, has expressed her side’s hunger to make it all the way in the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England & Wales after falling short in the last three ICC tournaments in the finals.

The Proteas made the finals of the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups, but were beaten by Australia and New Zealand, respectively. They also made the finals of the 2025 Women’s World Cup, where they lost out to India.

“Reaching back-to-back T20 World Cup finals has obviously been very special for us as a team, but I think it’s also made us even hungrier to go one step further,” Wolvaardt wrote in her column for the ICC.

The Proteas come off a 4-1 home series win against India and a 4-1 away series against New Zealand in early 2026, which ensured the team has enough matches under their belt. Wolvaardt added that beating India was a huge confidence boost for the team, with multiple players contributing in different scenarios.

“The India series was another good test against one of the strongest teams in the world. Winning that series gave the group a lot of confidence, but more importantly, it showed the ability and resilience within the squad. Players stepped up at different times and that’s something you need at a World Cup,” she added.

She further stated that the tours have signalled that the team is moving in the right direction, allowing them to test themselves in different situations, which is the needed experience before a World Cup.

“The preparation has been really good so far. We’ve had a lengthy run of cricket leading into the World Cup, especially with the tours against New Zealand and India, and I think those series gave us a great opportunity to test ourselves in different situations. The New Zealand tour challenged us in various ways, whether it was the conditions, our execution or the opposition,” she said.

“I think those tours also reinforced that we’re moving in the right direction as a team. We’ve been super focused on being consistent over the last year and there’s a strong belief within the group about what we’re capable of achieving,” she added.

South Africa will be in Group 1 alongside India, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. They start their campaign against Australia in Old Trafford on June 13.