9.40pm is the restart time. South Africa need 98 from 13 overs. The powerplay is 4 overs. Three bowlers can bowl 3 overs, two can bowl 2.

shirish: "Wow really impressed with ground staff, how they making this ground ready in such short time"

Jekin: "Considering revised target of 98 runs from 13 overs, what if it rains in the 9th over of chase and there is no further play possible ? South Africa go through or there will be DLS calculations ?" South Africa will progress if they don't face 10 overs due to rain.

Richard: "Will it rain again? Or is that it? " Radar looks OK for the rest of the match but I can't guarantee it.

9.30pm Australia's bowlers are warming up. We need to start within the next 19 minutes. That looks almost certain now. Meg Lanning is chatting with the coach.

9.25pm The radar suggests it should be clear shortly. But do we have enough time to get clear the ground? And it is clear ... Andrew McGlashan: "Covers are coming off. Australia players already on edge of the pitch."

The ground staff are working hard.

Brandon: "This South African, who has seen his fair share of rain-related WC exits, would like the rain to continue to wash away, pun intended, some of those memories. "

9.18pm: Is it lightening up a touch? Perhaps, the Australia players are warming up by the boundary, undoubtedly keen to show the umpires they are ready to get back on the field. Over again to Alex Malcolm, with all eyes on the Sydney skies...

9.15pm: Cut-off time for a game is 9.49pm, as the rain continues to fall. The scene is looking increasingly grim for Australia. If they do manage to squeeze in 10 overs, by the way, the DLS-adjusted target will be 79 for South Africa to win.

"If cricinfo knew there would be a small gap of no rain, followed by a period of more rain, surely the officials did as well?" huffs Remios. "Does there need to be a provision added that allows for the match referee to preemptively shorten a game in order to guarantee a result, especially when there is no reserve day such as now?"

9.04pm: Covers fully on the square, this seems to be the expected band of evening rain setting in. But how long will it last for? Australia's World Cup hopes are almost literally circling the drain here... Sounds like we have about 40 minutes for them to get back on and complete a 10-over chase, which is not a massive window, it has to be said (though we obviously lost time at the start, too).

While we wait, here are the thoughts of England captain Heather Knight, whose side exited the tournament after the washout earlier today, and India's Harmanpreet Kaur on the lack of reserve days for these games.

"Looks like SA have managed to work out how to win a knockout match at a World Cup," snorts Tom Hanslow

And here's James McCaghrey: "This is really disappointing, worse than the boundary count, at least that rule was probably put in, and people thought, well what are the chances, but we have known for a few days that the weather looked awful,and yet there was no attempt to work something out." Well, these things are decided long in advance... but having Friday just sitting there as a rest day, in the circumstances, does look daft

8.57pm: Looks to me like the rainfall is getting heavier, lots of umbrellas going up around the SCG. This would obviously be the most farcical way to round off the semi-finals - getting in the required minimum of 20 overs for a game, but only managing one innings. Although, as Andrew Miller to my left points out, there would be a certain poetry to SA going through thanks to the weather rules: "#JusticeForKepler"

"The radar doesn't look too promising. What's the cut-off start time for a 10-over innings? Thanks." We're just trying to work that one out, Anubhav Sapra. Seems like they're not even sure at the ground

8.52pm: And here comes the rain! Oh my word, this could be the cup of Horlicks to finish off the day in Sydney! The groundstaff are hurrying on with the hessian as South Africa's players get into a huddle. "Job done, now over to the rain gods batters," is perhaps the gist of van Niekerk's speech. Let's hope we can get a chase in, because this semi-final is beautifully poised: runs on the board carry such weight in knockout cricket, and although Australia would have loved 15-20 more after the start they got, South Africa will need to be at their best to get 135 - barring DLS recalculations. They've never beaten Australia in T20Is, remember. Well, now's the time, eh