In what was supposed to be a sea of black at Kingsmead as part of the inaugural Black Day, an initiative partnering with Momentum, KZN Cricket Union and the POWA to raise awareness in the fight against gender-based violence. The Black Day ODI in its infancy stage has created a level of excitement similar ‘start-up’ events can only dream of and this has been a triumph for the Proteas Women side.

Proteas opener, Laura Wolvaardt is relishing the prospect of playing in the very first Black Day ODI and is hoping the enthusiasm around the special day will go a long in motivating the team to produce a respectable performance.

“We can’t wait to play in our black kit,” Laura Wolvaardt said. “The Black Day ODI has brought another level of excitement within the squad because it is towards a great cause and something that we as the Momentum Proteas players are proud to be associated with. We are honored to be creating an event to bring and draw attention to the injustices around GBV and hopefully, the excitement around this event will make us raise our performance and produce a much better display than the one on Wednesday.”

Despite a narrow 3-run win over Pakistan on Wednesday, Wolvaardt who was one of the standout performers with a resolute 40 on the day believes the Momentum Proteas will be keen to improve on certain areas of their game which let them down on Wednesday.

“It was obviously good to get the win,” the opener said. “I thought it was a complete bowling display towards the end by our bowlers who made sure that they restrict Pakistan to that score which was set up by a not-so-great batting performance. We are very much cognizant that we are nowhere near perfect, the games coming ahead will go a long way in ensuring that we get back to our very best.

“Hopefully, the festivities around the Black Day ODI will be added motivation for us to produce a display that we as a team can be proud of,” Wolvaardt added.

The  Proteas will welcome back Ayabonga Khaka who missed the first game through illness and will more than likely play a similar unit, as the side continues to fiddle with combinations and strategies in search of a winning formula as they gradually make a return to international cricket.