SA prodigy swaps stethoscope for shot with Strikers

A fork-in-the-road moment forced Laura Wolvaardt to choose between two dreams, and now a greater sense of self-awareness is transforming the Proteas young gun into a T20 force to be reckoned with.

Wolvaardt will make her Adelaide Strikers debut this weekend, appearing in the Rebel Women's Big Bash for the first time since WBBL|04.

And while her previous campaign with the Brisbane Heat saw her average 9.7 from nine innings, the 21-year-old returns to Australian shores with a rapidly improving T20 game.

Those gains were on show during the T20 World Cup earlier this year, when she smacked 53no from 36 against Pakistan and 41no from 27 in a losing semi-final effort against eventual champions Australia.

Speaking to The Scoop podcast recently, compatriots Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp also called out Wolvaardt as the Protea to watch in this year's WBBL, following her form at a recent national camp.

"When I started out, ODI was more my forte and 50-over cricket made a lot more sense to me," Wolvaardt told cricket.com.au. 

"I think I just needed a couple of seasons to find my way in T20 and find out what worked and what didn't work. 

"I'm really happy I got a chance to play in the World Cup and it came off, so I'm looking forward to trying to continue that momentum in the Big Bash."

Developing new shots and putting in the hard yards in the gym have been critical (she jokes was too "skinny and lanky" to hit the ball very far previously) but the real key to improvement lay in finding contentment within her own game.

"Sometimes in T20 when I would open the batting with someone like (South Africa teammate) Lizelle Lee, I felt like I had to bat like her," Wolvaardt explained.

"That is impossible, because she smashes it to all parts.

"So it was about just figuring out my own way to go about it, and that's what took the most time."

Wolvaardt is not yet sure exactly what role she will play in the Strikers batting line-up – there is a spot vacant at the top of the order following the departure of New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine, or she could slot in anywhere from 3-5 behind the likes of Suzie Bates, Tahlia McGrath and Stafanie Taylor. 

She was set to meet her new teammates in the flesh for the first time on Monday following two weeks of hotel quarantine in Adelaide, but while she is excited to play alongside the likes of Taylor, Bates and Megan Schutt, there is another member of the Strikers' group Wolvaardt is most keen to work with. 

"Our assistant coach is (England legend) Charlotte Edwards, which is really awesome," she said.

"I actually made my debut for South Africa playing against England when she was still captain, and she was such a celebrity to me.

"It's crazy I'll be able to work with her this tournament."

Wolvaardt was quick to make an impact following her international debut as a 16-year-old in 2016, becoming the youngest South African – male or female – to score an ODI century, in just her seventh match.

Blessed with an abundance of natural talent, she is one of the game's most exciting young players and has already played 75 matches for South Africa, yet it was never a given she would even commit to a career in international cricket.

The keen student landed a spot in medical school after graduating from high school, and her original intention had been to leave the sport for medicine after two years.

"I went (to university) for a month or two and then I saw I wasn't getting any time to play cricket at all," Wolvaardt said.

"We had a lot of tours coming up and it would have been very difficult to combine the two, so the university gave me two years as a grace period where I could play cricket and they'd keep my spot in the program.

"The plan was after two years, I'd go back to medicine … but the cricket was going really well and I really enjoyed it, so I turned down my spot."

South Africa's national players possess central contracts, but do not enjoy the level of full-time professionalism that their Australian counterparts do, and their domestic program remains amateur.

Wolvaardt's decision to pursue the riskier of her two loves was a bold one, but despite acknowledging it was a difficult decision, she has no regrets.

"It's very, very hard to get into medical school and it was my dream growing up," she said.

"I was thinking, Who turns down med school, who does that?!

"But I'm really happy with my decision and how my cricket is going. I'm really enjoying it."

Cricket fans are certainly glad Wolvaardt chose to remain in the sport, with the right-hander part of an exciting crop of eight South Africa players gracing this year's WBBL.

With no international fixtures currently scheduled for the Proteas, being able to make the trip to Australia for the tournament was too good an opportunity to pass up, despite the requirement for two weeks of hard hotel quarantine on arrival, and the need to remain in a bio-secure hub for the duration of the season.

"It was an easy decision," Wolvaardt said. "Back at home we have quite a lot of restrictions still going on so there's not much cricket there.

"Two weeks was not too much time to wait compared to back at home."