Laura Wolvaardt smashed an unbeaten 126 off just 62 deliveries in the third T20I against Zimbabwe, and broke multiple full-member records with it.
Most WT20I centuries for full-member batters: Laura Wolvaardt equals Athapaththu’s record
Wolvaardt brought up her fourth T20I century in only 54 balls and levelled Chamari Athapaththu’s record of the most tons for full-member sides in the format. Danielle Wyatt of England and West Indies’ Hayley Matthews are next on the list with three centuries each.
Player | Team | Hundreds |
Laura Wolvaardt | South Africa | 4 |
Chamari Athapaththu | Sri Lanka | 4 |
Hayley Matthews | West Indies | 3 |
Danielle Wyatt | England | 3 |
Deandra Dottin | West Indies | 2 |
Amy Hunter | Ireland | 2 |
Amelia Kerr | New Zealand | 2 |
Meg Lanning | Australia | 2 |
Gaby Lewis | Ireland | 2 |
Smriti Mandhana | India | 2 |
Beth Mooney | Australia | 2 |
Muneeba Ali | Pakistan | 2 |
Note: Esha Oza of UAE has the most T20I hundreds (5) in women's cricket.
Most international centuries in women’s cricket: Laura Wolvaardt joins Smriti Mandhana at the top
This was Wolvaardt’s 18th international century across formats, helping her equal Smriti Mandhana’s record. The India batting star had recently taken an outright lead in the list with a 64-ball 124 against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup. Meg Lanning is third with 17 hundreds.
Player | Tests | ODIs | T20Is | Total |
Smriti Mandhana | 2 | 14 | 2 | 18 |
Laura Wolvaardt | 1 | 13 | 4 | 18 |
Meg Lanning | - | 15 | 2 | 17 |
Hayley Matthews | - | 12 | 3 | 15 |
Suzie Bates | - | 13 | 1 | 14 |
Laura Wolvaardt's ton helps South Africa seal Zimbabwe T20I series
After electing to bat first at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, the South Africa captain carried her bat, slamming 16 fours and four sixes in her 126-run knock. She stitched an unbeaten 173-run stand with Karabo Meso, who also notched up her maiden T20I fifty as South Africa finished at 200-1 in 20 overs.
In response, Zimbabwe found themselves reeling at 35-6 at one stage, but No.9 Michelle Mavunga's 41 off 23 helped them past the 100-run mark as they lost by 80 runs. Annerie Derecksen was the star with the ball for South Africa, finishing with 5-15 from four overs to register her first five-wicket haul in international cricket. The visitors took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series with the result.
Meanwhile, Wolvaardt also became the first South Africa batter to 3000 runs in WT20Is. Overall, she is the second-fastest to the milestone, having taken 101 innings, one more than Beth Mooney's 100.
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