Laura Wolvaardt the latest Proteas Women casualty in Colombo

Wolvaardt is the latest victim in what now seems like a revolving door in the sick bay in Colombo, with teammates Tazmin Brits and Karabo Meso having also reported ill earlier on their tour due to the sweltering heat in Sri Lanka. 

This poses serious challenges for coach Mandla Mashimbyi, who insisted in his pre-match press conference that they are well equipped to deal with these kinds of challenges.

"The tough thing with this team is not only the winning part, but also the conditions that we’re facing here. All the teams are struggling with the heat, more so our players," said Mashimbyi.

"We’re expecting those type of incidents [of players falling ill] to happen – first it was Tazmin, which was obviously not ideal at the time because she was dictating matters [in the match], then we had Meso walking out. 

"We actually are prepared for those types of incidents to happen during our matches in these conditions. There are a lot of things we have to factor in, but at the same time we need to get the job done.”

Wolvaardt’s absence did open the door for debutant Maine Smit to earn her first cap, while Chloe Tryon took over the captain’s duties against India. 

READ: Proteas Women looking to turn things around against India