Laura Wolvaardt wins ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for stellar Ireland show

Laura Wolvaardt wins ICC award [Source: AFP]

South Africa Women captain Laura Wolvaardt has won the ICC Player of the Month award for the month of December 2025. The 26-year-old overcame some stiff competition from teammate Sune Luus and India’s World Cup winner Shafali Verma.

Laura Wolvaardt played three ODIs and a couple of T20I matches in the month of December, all against the visiting Ireland Women team at home. The cricketer finished both series at the top of the run-scoring charts, and even bagged the ‘Player of the Series’ award at the end of the three-match ODI rubber on December 19 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

Laura Wolvaardt beats Shafali Verma to win December honours

Laura Wolvaardt has been adjudged as the ‘Women’s Player of the Month’ by the ICC for the month of December 2025. Throughout the month, the legendary South African opener minted 392 runs in just five innings across ODIs and T20I matches against Ireland Women at home at a prolific batting average of 130.67.

Laura Wolvaardt started off South Africa’s home series against Ireland by notching up a match-winning century, a sizzling 115* from 56 balls with 15 fours and four huge sixes at the Newlands in Cape Town. Her innings helped South Africa wallop Ireland by 105 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series.

While she managed to score just 22 in the next T20I a couple of days later at the Boland Park in Paarl, a washout in the third T20I ensured Laura Wolvaardt concluded the T20I series with 137 runs in just two innings at an average of 137.

The South African opener subsequently crafted 31 in the series-opening first ODI in East London, before blasting successive match-winning hundreds against Ireland Women at the St George's Park in Gqeberha and at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Her Gqeberha effort included an electrifying 124 from 111 balls as South Africa Women mounted 375-6 in 50 overs before securing a 74-run win. In a chase of 206 in Johannesburg, the prolific right-handed batter bludgeoned 100* from 93 balls with 16 cracking boundaries as the hosts completed a comprehensive 3-0 ODI series sweep.

Laura Wolvaardt’s teammate and fellow ICC Player of the Month contender Sune Luus also notched up match-winning runs against Ireland Women in both, the ODI and T20I series at home.

Shafali Verma, on the other hand, pummeled Sri Lankan Women bowlers in the five-match T20I series at home with an astonishing tally of 241 runs, which included three successive half-centuries at one stage, all in match-winning causes.

What’s next for Laura Wolvaardt and South Africa Women’s team

Laura Wolvaardt is now scheduled to lead the South Africa Women’s team in the upcoming white-ball series against Pakistan at home. Under her leadership, the South African team (squad announcement pending) is scheduled to face Pakistan in a series of three ODIs and three T20Is between February 10 and March 1.

Pakistan’s tour of South Africa will kick-off with the series-opening first T20I match on February 10 at the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.