Laura Wolvaardt calls for calm in World Cup semis vs England

The two sides face each other in the World Cup last four for a third time in a row, with Wolvaardt having been on the losing side of this duel in both 2017 and 2022. 

She acknowledged that this will be the biggest test of her leadership since being appointed skipper two years ago with her main job to ease the pressure the team will be feeling. 

"I think I've learnt a lot about myself as a leader over the last two years that I've been captain, and I think for me [today] will just be about keeping everyone as calm as possible – I think the calmest team out there will most likely win," said Wolvaardt.

"I think 50 overs is a very long time, and it's very easy to let the pressure of a semifinal get to you, but I think it's still just a game of cricket.

"There'll be ups and downs within the game, and the team that rides those waves the best throughout the 100 over-game will come out on top.

"So I think it's just to keep everyone calm, obviously we have our plans in place so trying to stick to those as best as we can, and I think we're really well prepared as a group so it's just trusting and believing in that progression we've done as well."

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Having made it to the final of two T20 World Cups in a row, the skipper says they can pour in some of that experience into the 50-over format, and put the previous results against England in the semi-finals behind them. 

"I think we've had some success in ICC tournaments, obviously in a totally different format, but that semifinal against England was four years ago so I think we're a totally different looking side, and they've got a lot of different players as well," she noted.

"So I think it's sort of a fresh opportunity and it starts from 0, so I'm looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we were able to learn from the [T20 World Cup] semifinal victories that we've got and maybe stay a bit calmer under pressure."