Weather watch: High chances of rain affecting Aus vs NZ, Ind vs Pak
Keep the umbrellas and DLS sheets handy. With the La Niña weather event back across east and south-eastern Australia, there looks to be a strong chance that rain will play a part at the T20 World Cup over the coming days, including the opening Super 12s fixture at the SCG and the India-Pakistan game in Melbourne.
Australia begin their title defence against New Zealand in Sydney on Saturday evening and the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting an 80% chance of any rain with 1 to 3mm although the wettest day is currently forecast to be Friday. "Very high (90%) chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. The chance of a thunderstorm," it currently states about Saturday.
Things look even less promising for Sunday in Melbourne where India will face Pakistan at 7pm local time. There is currently a 90% chance of any rain that day, with between 10 to 25mm forecast.
A minimum of five overs is required to constitute a match and there are no reserve days during the group stages, but there are for the semi-finals and final.
The weather could also play a part in the final day of the first round in Hobart on Friday with a 60% chance of showers in the afternoon and evening. Ireland face West Indies and Scotland play Zimbabwe in what could yet be vital matches to decide Super 12 spots. Hobart then continues to host matches early in the Super 12s, with showers forecast on Sunday and Monday.
The final day of the first round in Geelong on Thursday is currently looking fine, with only a small chance of a shower.
There is better news over the west where England face Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday with the forecast set fair for that evening.
Later in October the tournament moves to Brisbane and Adelaide.
In September, the Bureau of Meteorology said that this year's La Niña event may not last all summer, but that would still not be great news for this T20 World Cup.
"At the moment, this La Niña isn't looking particularly strong and it's looking like it will peak probably fairly early in the summer or late in the spring," Andrew Watkins, head of long-range forecasting, told the ABC. "Which is a little bit unusual, a little bit different to the La Niñas that we've been seeing in recent years."