1.40pm The players are walking out to meet Glenn McGrath and present their signed baggy pink caps which will be auctioned to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. This ceremony was supposed to take place yesterday but was postponed.

Graham: "How could Cummins get criticism for making the right call and why does everyone still believe the Captain is making every call when there are so many coaches and experienced players. End of the day every player plays to win and surely Khawaja has no issue."

1.30pm 59 overs left today. Session times 1.45pm-3.55pm then 4.15pm-6.00pm. We can play the extra 30 minutes to 6.30pm if needed.

Medon: "Now that this is effectively a four-day game, does this mean that the follow-on cut-off changes from 200 behind to 150 behind?" Follow on is still 200 behind. South Africa need 276 to avoid it.

AussieBren: "Cummins with an unenviable decision. Since he has declared, he's going to cop it for not letting Khawaja get 200. If he didn't, he would've copped it for not putting the team first. Damned if you do, damned if you don't."

Dan Ternes: "Khawaja now has an after-dinner speech anecdote that he'll be dining out on for years to come!"

1.20pm The heavy roller comes out. Mike Hussey on Fox says the muddy bits at the bowler's take off spots were like soft plasticine before they replaced the turf and now it's a lot more solid.

Aaron: "Honestly I'm a huge stats nerd when it comes to sports and even I think cricket is too obsessed with numbers. 200 is a nice round number but really it's a great innings no matter what, plus just think how much it will boost Khawaja's average!"

Rickp: "Khawaja takes one for the team. Hope Pat asked if he was ok with it. " You would think he would be. There's only roughly 160 overs left in the Test if they get through all the overs to take 20 wickets. If Khawaja was unhappy about the team coming first in this scenario I'd be very surprised.

1.15pm We will restart play at 1.45pm Gnasher: "Interestingly, looks like the South Africans are going to do some catches in the warm-up. Perhaps Australia will bat on, or perhaps they just haven't told SA they will declare." Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are in full whites. Pat Cummins has declared. Khawaja remains 195 not out.

1.12pm The Australians are starting to warm up. It looks like they will bowl. The ground staff have replaced turf on the the take spots for the fast bowlers at one end. The still look quite soft under foot despite the new turf.

James: "I remember Atherton pulling the pin when Hick was 98 not out. Might have been at the SCG too." It was

1.07pm Grasher again: "Appears the ground staff are doing some repairs, removing a chunk of turf from the take-off area of the Paddington End. Would appear some questions need to be asked about quality of the covers being used. Cummins and Hazlewood now making their way off, packing away their things." The umpires have had a conversation with Pat Cummins and Dean Elgar.

Sampath Bandarupalli: Only twice declaration took place when a player was batting in the 190s in Test cricket: Gerry Alexander when Frank Worrell was on 197* and Rahul Dravid when Sachin Tendulkar was on 194*.

Lyndon: "Perhaps the SCG was too focused on getting a sponsor for the covers, rather than good quality!"

SunilBsawta: "You haven't given any resumption time." We haven't got one Sunil.

1.00pm Here's Gnasher's inspection report:

"Umpires out for the inspection and the captains are joining them. Paul Reiffel having a poke around at a few areas on the edge of the pitch. Nathan Lyon marking his run up.

"There's a fair bit of attention being paid to where the outfield becomes the pitch, the take-off area for the bowlers. The heaters/fans that were drying certain areas are being taken away which could be a positive sign."

12.30pm Lunch. We'll be back soon with further updates - hopefully some good news after that inspection. Stay tuned.

12.12pm Gnasher: "Sun is out, patches of blue sky. Rope going around the outfield." Lunch will be taken at 12.30pm, and there will be an inspection at 12.45pm.

Peter: "Is there a difference between forfeiting an innings and declaring an innings without a ball being bowled? " -- The declaration would need the team to come out to bat.

andrew schulz: "I believe the rules of Test cricket prohibit the complete forfeiting of an innings. At any rate, are you guys serious in thinking RSA would be happy chasing 476 in the fourth innings? Could be we only lose about 2 hours today." -- The Laws allow teams to forfeit either innings, though that wasn't the case at the time of the Centurion Test of 2000. In that instance, match referee Barry Jarman allowed England to forfeit their first innings because he thought it was in the spirit of the game (funny how that turned out). At the time, I think the Laws only permitted teams to forfeit their second innings.

11.49am "Rain has cleared and it's brighter," Gnasher says. "Fourth umpire coming back out, without a brolly up." Five minutes later: "Groundstaff back out there to cheers from the ground (stop me if you've heard this before)."

JT: "@Robbie Ben Stokes has a much better batting line-up than Dean Elgar."

Munro: "@Robbie, England doesn't have the history with forfeited innings that SA does."

Adrian Meredith: "If we went back to the days of uncovered pitches, would this match have a result?" -- Interesting question. From what I've read, I think wet pitches were reckoned to be reasonably okay to bat on, and the true "sticky wicket" was a wet pitch drying under the sun.

Robbie: "If Ben Stokes were in Dean Elgar's shoes, he'd be banging on the door offering a forfeit. And he'd relish the challenge."

Mal: "Pratheeve: Melbourne and Sydney are Australia's most populous cities, and holidays are the easiest time to get large crowds and maximum exposure."

Matt: "Currently parked at a pub 1km from the ground and its as bright as it has been all day."

Nick: "I'm in Western Sydney about 30kms from the SCG and it hasn't rained here since yesterday afternoon, seems the ground is just doomed!"

Timmy: "Why would SCG even want the last Test? It's usually a dead rubber anyway."

Simon: "Has a batter ever batted for 5 days without dismissal? Would Ussie's knock count even though he might not have faced a ball on multiple of those days?" -- Ten batters have batted on each day of a five-day Test, but Khawaja won't get on that list because there was no play yesterday. No one's ever batted on all five days without being dismissed!

11.36am Gnasher: "Steady drizzle. Now heavy drizzle. It won't take much more for there to be real doubt about any play at all today."

Phillip: "Draws are part of Test cricket. There is no way that SA would try to make a forfeit innings match of this in their current situation... For Australia, they simply need to put on their bowling shoes. With the SA batting line up that's struggling at the moment, they are still up for a win."

Pratheeve: "CA are more than happy to be flexible with Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide but not for Melbourne and Sydney. Perth in particular seems to get the scraps of the cricket international schedule. After all, the test match against West Indies started on a Wednesday. When it comes to international cricket scheduling it will always favour Victoria and NSW. "

Adam: "At what stage does Cummins accept a draw is inevitable and instead use this day and a half to best prepare for India? Give Carey and Agar a bat, then put SA in to give the Aus bowlers a bit of time in these conditions."

11.20am Hello, hello. Do spikeball players warm up by playing cricket?

David: "Re the ex-player-turned-commentator thing, of course some do it much better than others. But when done well, I find they can provide a unique insight into the mindset of the players and the thinking that goes on around tactics and skills. And the best of them have a healthy perspective on the game itself. They've played enough, won and lost enough, to know that the game isn't everything. Non-cricketers can idolise the game too much."

Miko: "With all this talk of the weather spoiling the contests and possible declarations rescuing any meaningful play, why not look a proper solution through a rule change. If teams would bat 20-30 overs in turn, the effect of the weather wouldn't be so bad. Even if 4 days are rained out, one could still have a winner based on the first 50 or so overs that each side could have played. And they would have been played under the same conditions." -- We're still in a draw situation if neither side's been bowled out, no?

11.15am We're still nowhere near any play. With that news, Karthik will set in. Hello KK.

11.10am Big covers are coming off again. Gnasher says it's drizzling though.

11am The big covers remain on the square.

Cal: "Can't see innings being forfeited. Apart from unfortunate historical associations for a South African captaining agreeing to such a plan, they would face a world-record fouth innings target against one of the strongest attacks in the world. "

Stephen: "Should Australia declare? Look at the NZ vs Pakistan game…I bet both teams wish they had 5 more overs to play and that could be Australia on day 5. 2 overs for Usman to get his 200, then another 2/3 lost to change over. 5 overs could be absolutely critical…of it could meander to a meaningless draw due to rain/SA resistance…"

10.50am Bernie: "Rain happens. Some months ago the weather experts were warning of the wettest summer on record and half Australia is still underwater. I think we are luck to get 4 out of 5 Tests in." That is true Bernie. There's severe flooding on both sides of Australia at the moment.

Aidan: "Why is no one discussing the possibility of both captains agreeing to forfeit an innings? South Africa would have a chance to make history, and Australia only have to take 10 wickets that way. Both teams have everything to gain and nothing to lose?" Seems unlikely but it would be interesting if that happened.

Hugh: "With all this lost time and overs is follow-on number still 200?Even so, whether Uzzie makes 195 or 200 is now immaterial to him I suspect in terms of the greater game. Taking 20 wickets in 5 sessions or less will be a challenge and a half, even against this team. . If SA bat past follow-on target then it's a draw anyway. So declaration probably a no brained at this stage." Khawaja said yesterday regarding Cummins declaring on him: "Think it would be pretty harsh to bowl straightaway, don't think that will happen."

Matt: "Seriously doubt that Dean would forfeit an innings. Firstly very unfair. Sa get to bat with scoreboard pressure, cloud cover and an older pitch. Secondly 2-0 sounds much better than 3-0"

10.37am Gnasher: "Covers going back on. Players going back inside." They are covering the square again. A shower coming through. That 10.45am inspection might be pushed back. Michael: "All this talk about the tradition of Boxing Day and New Years test. What about the other cities. It's classic CA to ignore those traditions - like Australia Day in Adelaide. Every other city just gets thrown the scraps of the schedule when some of them (hint - Adelaide) have produced better spectacles for years. "

Danny: "Graham(1) raises a good point regarding the apparent infatuation with using ex players as commentators. Putting AB's comments to one side, generally speaking players supposed ability to provide expert comments does not override their (generally, with few exceptions) poor ability to communicate on radio and tv. How many have a completed a course in broadcasting?" That is a different discussion and I didn't disagree with Graham on that.

10.25am Gnasher: "Hint of drizzle in the air."

Graham: "I am another Graham and don't want everyone to think all Grahams disagree with Allan Border. To me its a no brainer have to declare. If we don't bowl them out under 275 which would likely be lunch tomorrow the game is not getting won anyway."

Rhys: "There is one other question here, which is whether Cummins feels he and his side could bowl for two 98-over days solid (which they may have to do), as opposed to 20 wickets in 140 or 120 overs? "

Bobby: "You'd think in this day and age you'd be able to stop water pooling at the edge of the pitch!!"

Todd: "The flip side is Australia declare, bowl 10 overs and then rain comes back. Might as well get a player to 200, get that monkey off his back and get something out of the game. Maybe Usman scores bigger against India after and that is more important for the team."

10.15am Inspection at 10.45am. Andrew McDonald and Pat Cummins are having a chat.

Matt Renshaw on Fox about his journey back to the Test side: "Covid came at a decent time for me. I'd just taken a break from cricket. Had to really work out what I wanted to do with my life. Got engaged at that point. I wanted to try and prove myself and get back to the Queensland side. Normally any time I go below the Queensland border I get hayfever and I went to the doc and he asked me to do a Covid test and it came up positive. I was a little worried I'd get pulled out but fortunately I was able to play."

Gordon: "Time to invest in a hover cover?"

David M: "I think Cummins is being too nice and should declare. They don't need more runs. If they can't bowl SA out for under 275, they're not going to win anyhow."

Graham: "Can I ask actually how useful people find an ex player from 30 years ago insight into the game, expecially coming from a guy who sent Dean Jones to hospital for not being "tough" enough. Occasionally you get a Benaud but I don't understand how playing the game seems to automatically qualify you to communicate the game to other people" I hear what you're saying Graham and the Dean Jones story is valid. But I think Border's point on the declaration here has substance and value. Don't have to always agree or defer to Test captains but it's a worthy opinion to at least canvas given he's captained more Tests that anybody bar Graeme Smith.

10.10am Mahesh: "Some of the lads (Uzzy, Renshaw and a couple of others) are out playing Spikeball on the SCG. I can't tell you how much I love that" Smith and Labuschagne are often involved. They play that game a lot before a days play.

The covers are off but the outfield will need time.

Allan Border, Australia's longest serving Test captain, is working for Fox and was asked whether he would declare: "[I'd be saying] we've got to get moving and get ball in hand. Try and get those 10 wickets initially and make some decisions from there. 195 not out is not too bad. I think if you've got a mantra of team first you've got to take those individual performances out of the thinking. What's your best option to win the game and it's to get bowling. I'd be booed all the way out there for sure. But how bad would it be tomorrow night when we're there's one wicket to get with a couple of overs to go and you're off for bad light."

10am We're not starting on time. There's more showers coming through. Mark Howard of Fox is saying the run ups would be fine but the edge of the square for fielders at midwicket and cover is pure mud.

Gnasher: South Africa warming up. A few Aussies playing some sort of game. Nothing official yet, but a suggestion we may get on around 11am although it could be longer.

trevor: "Kim, I think you are being very unkind to SA. The Gabba game was always going to be won by the team that batted 2nd, the MCG very much favoured Aus when the 2nd day was an absolute road (reckon SA could have made 400 on that day) and this test has also favoured the toss. Aus are the better batters undoubtedly, but don't underestimate the wounded bull!" I respect your optimism Trevor but South Africa have made 400 just once in there last 32 Test innings and haven't passed 204 in their last 8.

9.55am Worrying signs. The ground staff have leaf blowers out trying to dry mud on the edge of the square. Water has clearly pooled at the edge of the large covers and turned the edges of the square into soft mud. That will be a worry for the umpires.

9.50am Helgard : "Do you think Aus will declare over night or give him a chance to get his 5 runs to go to 200?" It's sounding like they are going to bat for a little longer than that and try and make the follow on target higher so they can only bat once. Seems odd but that's the whisper.

Kim: "South Africa can thank the weather was on their side preventing an embarrassing thrashing from Australia. This test proves SA bowling attack is not as good as we think. Unfortunately our cricket continues to get weaker due to pathetic domestic competition and poor administration."

9.37am Nathan Lyon on Fox: "I think this is the area [just off the covers] that the umpires were concerned about yesterday. Hopefully the rain stops and Adam [Lewis the curator] and his team get some work done on it and we can start play. All the moisture in the air hasn't helped with the deterioration of the wicket. We'll have to try and bring those footmarks into play when our quicks are bowling. Right now we're thinking about how many runs we can get, we want Uzzy to get 200 but also looking at what the potential follow on is as well and having that up our sleeve so if things go our way we can put pressure on the South Africans. Our thinking would be if we have to bat again we're taking time out of the game. If we can create 10 chances then we can have that option to send them in again. I still believe we can get a result in this game. I'm really confident about that. We just need this rain to go away."

Adam Lewis of Fox: "We're thinking around lunch time it's clearing. It's lifting off the ocean this morning. We're sort of hoping the next hour it's lighter and then blowing away hopefully."

9.33am Gnasher: "Covers are slowly being peeled back. A few of the South Africans are out kicking a football (the soccer kind). Some of the Aussies pottering around. Alex Carey and Matt Renshaw spotted going to the indoor nets so the indications are Australia will bat on, but they may have to change if we get much of a delay." Looks unlikely we'll start at 10am but we shall see.

This is Australia's last Test before a much-anticipated four-Test tour of India in February. Gnasher took a look at what Australia's touring squad might look like.

Day 4 - 9.30am Hello and welcome to day four of the third Test between Australia and South Africa. Day three was completely washed out due to rain. Andre McGlashan is at the SCG for us: "There's been rain this morning but it's clearing. Groundstaff are working on getting things ready. No sign of warm-ups yet and don't think we'll have an on-time start. It's overcast so light could be an issue during the day if it stays this way. Meanwhile, Matt Renshaw has been cleared to return to the Australian change rooms having recorded multiple negative RAT tests yesterday afternoon and this morning."

For those keen on reading Tristan Lavalette's report about the rain, here it is. Usman Khawaja spoke after a frustrating day and gave some excellent insights into his summer so far.

3.52pm It's official now. Play has been called off for the day. Two days and a possible 196 overs still remain, so we could still have a result, weather permitting. 10am starts both tomorrow and day after, remember, so join us nice and early, and hopefully we'll still have some riveting cricket to watch together. Until then, goodbye.

3.48pm Gnasher: "Fourth umpire out there. Not sure, but this may be the call-off inspection if the on-field umpires come out. It's drizzling. Suspect they'd need an hour to get things ready."

Earl John: "Fun, if useless, fact: Worldwide, there have been 17 tests since Australia last fielded a team with 2 (or more) players with the same first name [V. Sri Lanka in Galle]".

3.20pm Looks like tea has been taken early. "Cheers from he crowd as sun makes a brief appearance, and here come the groundstaff," Gnasher says. "My sense is it will be futile."

And just as we speak, it's begun raining again. We'll be back soon with further updates.

Pompton: "In relation to Uchit Shahs comment and subsequent reply, the WI tour of SA is in fact part of the current WTC cycle." -- Ah yikes, my bad!

3.00pm Gnasher: "Currently the brightest it's been for some time. May still be spitting a little. No movement by the groundstaff."

Michael O: "So Usman starts batting on day one and pending a declaration, will still be there at the start of day 4. Has anyone ever batted on every day of a Test??" -- Yup. It's happened ten times so far.

2.46pm "Still raining," Gnasher says. "Steady drizzle I'd call it. Still bands of showers off the coast which I don't think will allow a big enough gap."

Suresh: "If this match ends in a draw does it mean Aus through to WTC final even if they lose 4 0 to India?" -- Nah. An Australia win guarantees that. A draw leaves Sri Lanka still in the race if India beat Australia 4-0 and Sri Lanka go to New Zealand and win 2-0.

Don: "Khawaja has been outscored by each of his partners so far in this innings, yet he is still there. Patience pays off."

Jane: "@Ron - That'd be "chuckin it down!""

2.30pm Hello again.

Ron: "What comes after "torrential" in the Aussie rain scale, maybe "catastrophic" or "cyclonic"?"

MC Bad Genius: "If you use the rain radars on the BOM mobile app not the website, it gives a prediction of rain for the next 90 minutes. It looks to me like the worst is over and if the groundstaff can dry off the outfield, should get a couple of hours play in later this afternoon. Or perhaps I'm just a hopeless optimist!"

2.25pm Heavy rain still and puddles of water on the outfield. People are still sitting around the ground which is incredible. Karthik stepping in for awhile.

2.15pm shel: "I was optimistic when it was just "heavy rain" . . .slightly less so with "torrential". But hey, still a couple of days to go for UK to get his double, so all is not lost."

Jayesh Mehta: "Won 2 free tickets thanks to my electricity provider for today. Was raining when i left home. 40 mons drive. Kept the faith. Raining when i arrived. Decided to go watch Avaatar 2 at 1030, hoping for cricket after lunch. Movie over and its bucketind down now. Day over for me. Off to shisha and mezze with the mrs. Bye scg. C u next year."

Jimmy: "If only the Gabba curator was in charge of this pitch, we would still get a result, no problems. "

2.10pm Gnasher: "Torrential rain now."

2.07pm Gnasher: "Heavy rain again."

2pm Brett: "@Vishal. Good idea in theory but the team batting first would likely be disadvantaged depending on when the rain delays occurred. They'd need to introduce a DLS style adjustment to calculate a first innings lead. But that would make it extremely complicated."

Amod Khare: "@vishal Rao noooo absolutely no from me…. It should stay as proper as it is "

Arjun: "@Vishal like the idea but suspect it encourages teams with a lead to sit back and bat endlessly in games where rain is forecast, rather than push for wins. Say it's Day 2 lunch and you're on 400-4. Rain forecast for some of the remaining 3 days. Why declare/up the rate to push for a win. A niche example but I suspect there are countless others."

1.45pm Gnasher: "Not much to update from here. Currently raining lightly. Crowd entertaining themselves. A bit of a feeling it may not happen today."

Kym: "No 5 man attack? I think Marnus would surely disagree." Smith bowled ahead of him in Melbourne.

Subrat : "No draws in the last 47 tests. Wow. Forget bazball. Looks like SA are the true entertainers of test cricket."

Vishal Rao: "Matches where over 2 out of 5 days are washed out should be converted to 1st innings lead gets half of win points! How does that sound?" I'd be curious to see what the masses think.

Mark: "I remember first innings points in the Sheffield Shield. I also remember an inordinate amount of draws. "

1.30pm James: "I believe South Africa have played 47 consecutive tests without a draw. There's a very decent chance that said sequence is about to end." March 2017 was the last time South Africa played in a drawn Test.

Mark: "I believe South Africa's batting lineup would like a word, before you put a line through the results streak. "

Ankit: "Considering SA's highest total in this series is 204, I wouldn't write this match off yet." The next two days look OK weather wise. Australia doesn't have a five-man attack though.

1.15pm Devashish : "We all know where this test is heading. I want to ask when was the last time Sydney test got a winner?" January 2020. But three of the last four have been draws and five of the last eight.

Sam: "It's the wettest summer on record in Sydney, it wouldn't have mattered when it was played this summer, it probably would have been impacted by rain. A few years ago, everyone was whinging about the Sydney test match being too hot when Joe Root was admitted to hospital with heat stroke. Weather is the one constant variable in cricket." Melbourne was object of everyone's ire during the T20 World Cup. It has been a wet summer in Australia, particularly on the south-east coast.

Noah: "Worth commenting that they took stumps yesterday with at least an hours worth of play still possible when there hadn't been rain for a good 5 minutes and the radar was looking completely clear and didn't give a reason for calling stumps" That was interesting but they obviously felt the light wasn't going to improve because it was already touch and go.

Hayes: "On the plus side, Ashton Agar must be thinking Test Cricket in Australia is rather breezy."

1.07pm Gnasher: "That rain has now largely cleared, but not movement in the middle. There's another burst not far away by the looks of it." The next rain cell looks heavy too on the radar.

Jordan : "Are the administrators trying to kill test cricket? "The weather is ok, let's take lunch. Anything but play cricket, am I right?"" The ground would not have been cleaned up in time to be fair Jordan, particularly with another rain burst coming through. There's not much anyone can do.

Tom : "Give that there are 6 home tests next summer CA should seriously look at playing the Sydney test after Brisbane in late November/early December. Then have the perth and Adelaide tests in mid December with their favourable prime time in Eastern states before having Boxing Day test at MCG followed by new year test in Hobart. Would be a big call but something has to change. "

12.55pm Not good news after the lunch interval. We are getting the heaviest downfall of the day so far. Full covers remain on the ground. No news to report.

Joel: "Currently lashing down rain a few km from the SCG. Looks like we helpfully took lunch during the only rain-free part of the day!"

TimH: "just get on a bus to the airport and go to literally anywhere else cos it's not raining in any other city in Australia right now"

12.11pm Early lunch has been taken at the SCG. We'll be back very soon with more updates, and, hopefully not too far in the future, some cricket too.

11.50am More updates from Gnasher: "Cheers as the groundstaff appear. Fourth umpire also coming out." Five minutes later: "Covers coming off. On-field umpires coming out."

Gordon chimes in with a little more detail about said cheers: "The ground staff are on to the loudest reception I've heard since Cathy Freeman ran in 2000."

ObservantKiwi: "Feel sorry for Pat Cummins, if they play on for Khawajas double, the press will be into him for sacrificing a win for individual milestones, and if he declares, the press will be in to him for not giving Uzzie his chance at a first double hundred."

11.45am "The first hint of sunshine today," Gnasher says. "It may just be teasing us."

ElephantMan: "Regarding the earlier question from Mick, the wet weather in the last couple of years is heavily influenced by the extended La Niña event Oz has been experiencing. It is part of the typical ENSO cycle, although exacerbated by climate change. We should be transitioning to an El Niño this year, which probably means more hot dry weather (and bushfires) over the next few summers."

Mark M: "Just a thought...with the success of the scrambled seam ball for pace bowlers in recent times (witness Scott Boland), has there been any deliberate attempt by spinners to bowl an equivalent ball?As conventional spin deliveries rotate on an axis perpendicular to the seam, with the fingers releasing either directly over or under the seam, it would be possible to bowl a scrambled seam ball by releasing the ball at an angle of 45 degrees to the seam." -- Spinners do use the scrambled seam from time to time. I think Muralidaran began using it a lot when he realised batters were picking his variations from the seam position.

11.25am Thanks, Alex. How's everyone killing time while we wait for this weather thing to sort itself out?

Gnasher: "Still raining, not heavy, but it's rain. A small glimmer of hope that things may be a bit clearer behind this, but the problem will be getting a big enough gap between showers."

Red: "A bit of fun in the rain break - the current players leftie Test XI. Criteria is players must bat left-handed and bowl left-handed (if picked as a bowler): Warner, Latham, Khawaja, Conway, Head (ineligible to bowl), Shakib, Pant, Jadeja, Starc, Wagner, Shaheen. I'm sure there are players I've missed there! Karunaratne goes close."

Leigh: "Just watched a robelinda2 video of Brian Lara's 153* against Australia in 99."

Yann: "Looking at the BOM radar, the weather system appears to be precision-engineered to cause maximum disruption across Sydney but not much elsewhere. A bit like Scott Boland targeting your off stump - it just won't go away."

Munro: "Hi Karthik, currently reading a history of the Holy Roman Empire - something that has 0 chance of reminding me of what the rain is ruining."

Tim: "Spare a thought for Renshaw. Gets a recall after 4 and a bit years. Gets COVID and can't be around team mates in the rooms, waits two days to bat, faces a couple of balls and then his innings will be a wash out. Happy New Year Matt!"

Yann: "For anyone wanting to know about the weather, from my vantage point here just on the other side of the bridge, it's been tipping it down something chronic for the better part of two hours."

11.20am With nothing happening KK will step in to keep you company for awhile. Hello KK.

11.15am Gordon: "It's stopped raining and some of the security guards around the pitch have even taken off their ponchos. Riveting action live from the SCG"

11am Mark: "So the race is on now. Will we see more play first today in Sydney or Karachi. " Looking at the radar, my money is on Karachi.

Gnasher: "It has momentarily got brighter, and nearly stopped raining, but not sure it will last long."

10.50am Cricket Australia have announced that they will defer the traditional Pink Cap presentation, which is always part of the third day of the Pink Test and the McGrath Foundation's fundraising, until pre-match on day four due to the weather.

Russell Otway: "So much Ponting and Smith talk, Whats the update on the Boland Statue outside the G? So quickly he is forgotten after being left out of the team for this test. " I'm sure it's still in the works Russell.

Mick: "Yes rain has been an issue in recent Sydney tests. However Sydney was hot and sunny last week. Is there any proper meteorological research that suggests wet weather on one particular week of the year is destined to repeat itself on an annual basis in the exact same week the next year? Or is it just a run of bad luck?" One for our meteorologists.

Eddie: "I wonder going forward if there is any appetite for Tests to be able to switch to a Pink Ball (if both Teams agree I guess) if rain delays the start of a day until midday/afternoon. Could play Day 3 on a Day/Night schedule then have a late start tomorrow for Day 4 if the weather is clear? I'm sure there's a lot more behind the scenes that would be impacted and need to be sorted, particularly the broadcasting, but food for thought maybe. "

Paddy: "Rain delays here are a lot less fun without Warnie here to troll Sydneysiders about how often this happens..

10.40am No updates on the weather. It's still raining.

Marshall: "@Sproj, important to note this was selfless from Ponting. He has noted he felt obligated as a senior player to continue on after the mass exodus of the greats of the 00's causing such a big shift in experience in the team. A true leader."

Neil: "I do find it absolutely comical how the covers have pink writing for Jane McGrath Day - almost as if they have been prepared for the typical Sydney New Year's Test rain!!! (I believe for the other days the writing on the covers weren't pink?)" The fact that there is a sponsor on the covers at all is both amusing and telling. I can't remember seeing sponsored covers at any other ground.

Sproj: "Funnily enough, the man Smith is chasing for most Australian test centuries and a true all time great of the game in Ponting went on way too long and took his average from Smith-like to 'just' 51. The career end average for Ponting doesn't really do his legacy justice, Smith might also want to avoid that twilight nosedive."

Michael C: "Every one should be full of praise for Smith and his batting but remember Ricky Ponting had a similar average (over 60) after he plundered South Africa for two tons in his 100th Test. We should only compare Smith with the greats when he is finished playing."

Sean: "I feel people are saying Ponting had an average over 60 like Smith until the twilight period of his career but I am not sure if this true (thinking more like 55-58 until the decline). Can this be confirmed?" It reached 59.99 in his 107th Test in December 2006, when he had more than 9000 Test runs, and finished at 51.85. Here are Ponting's cumulative averages.

10.20am Rahul: "@Rahman: A more realistic goal is passing Ponting's 41 centuries. If he does that, and maintains his crazy average, he has claims to be the 2nd best test batsman of all time (big ifs though). " He was asked about beating Ponting's Australia test century record after his double in Perth against West Indies and gave another cryptic answer suggesting that might be a stretch.

Josh: "If we lose this test to rain then 6 of the last 9 Sydney tests will have been draws. I know 2015 was a very benign surface but at least 4 of those draws have been due to rain. That isn't acceptable for a summer sport especially in Australia. Think it might be worth a change in the schedule. Sydney gets the pre-Christmas test and Adelaide gets the New Year's Test. "

Stephen: "Steve Smith is right on the money with his career. Last thing he wants is to slowly lose his abilities and play on too long. He's seen how Warner has been treated in the last couple of years, and many more before him. Kohli's struggles for the last 3 years in Tests should be a warning to all ageing players..."

Steve : "Smith has made a few good investments during his career so hes no longer dependent on cricket to secure his financial future. Means when he does feel he's had enough the decision to retire will probably come quickly"

10.10am Gnasher: Last night, Steve Smith made everyone take notice when he spoke about being uncertain how long his career would go on for. This morning he has said he has no plans to leave soon, although did use the "tour by tour" line again.

"Look, I was a little bit cryptic there," he told SEN Test Cricket before play on day three. "I'm not going anywhere right now, I can tell you that. I am getting older and I'll take it tour by tour, but I have no immediate plans to stop playing.

"I'm seeing them pretty well, I'm happy with where my game's at. I've made a lot of changes at the start of the summer and I was able to go back yesterday to how I used to bat a little bit, with my movement across, which I'll do at certain periods when I feel it's necessary. I feel really comfortable with my game and I look forward to what's coming up."

Martin: "Hows Renshaw today? Did he have to sleep on the field too?" Not sure where he has to hide today to avoid his teammates and the rain.

Michael: "Had this match been played last week or next week, the weather would have been perfect. I don't really know what the solution is."

Aidan: "I wouldn't be surprised if we see a swathe of players retiring after the Ashes series, or the ODI World Cup. Smith, Warner, Lyon, Starc even haven't really got much more to play for beyond boosting their numbers, they have won just about every major trophy. In Smith's case, there'd be pressure to finish with a test average above 60 too. Good chance to blood some youngsters and make some hay on the franchise circuit for a bit." That would leave a big hole if they all went at the same time. I would say Warner finishes first as the oldest of those four. But I'd be surprised if the others went with him post Ashes. Lyon has made it known he is keen to keep playing for quite awhile yet.

10am We're not starting on time. The covers are on and it's still raining. No sign of that abating soon.

Gnasher at the SCG: "Latest from here is that not much has changed. Drizzling at the moment. It's a band of showers coming up from the south east and there don't appear any large gaps between them at the moment. The forecast for Saturday and Sunday is better, so Australia may have little more than two days to push for victory. Interesting decision for Pat Cummins if considerable time is lost around the declaration, given Usman Khawaja is 195 not out. Now it's hosing down."

Darryn: "Its a lovely mid 20s overcast day up here in the Hunter Valley. Good day to bat, good day to bowl. Time for Cessnock to get a Test match!"

shaun: "In 1995 on this ground Atherton declared with Hick 98 not out.Will Cummins declare on Kawaja at 195 not out?"

Ty: "I believe Australia could very well bat further to the point of making 600 in the hope they can bowl SA out twice in 180 overs"

David: "5km from the SCG and the first session of my backyard test match has already been abandoned."

9.50am We won't be starting on time. Here is the Sydney radar and it's pretty ugly.

Les: "Sunny and 18 degrees in Warragul (in case CA need suggestions on where to shift the pink test)" What's the track like Les? Pace and bounce?

Dougo: "Only way to make the rest of this match fun is for SA to immediately declare when they are put in, forcing Australia to do the same, and then have at it seeing whether they can salvage a respectable draw. " Australia probably need to risk it. If Australia don't win here they are still not guaranteed a spot in the WTC final ahead of a difficult tour of India.

Rahman: "Alex, I am worried about Smith's comment about his future. Do you think he might call it a day after the Ashes next year? I just want him to score 50 centuries before he retires. Is that too much to ask? " I think that is asking a bit much. It's taken him 62 Tests to get from 10 to 30 Test centuries over 7 and a half years. If you take the 12-month ban out it's 6 and a half years. If you extrapolate roughly the same century rate per Test and Tests per year to get from 30 to 50 means he will need to play until he's 40 to reach that number.

9.45am Some squad news from CA: Batter Marcus Harris and fast bowler Lance Morris have been released from the Australian men's squad to return to the Big Bash League. Harris will return to the Melbourne Renegades and Morris to the Perth Scorchers. Victorian Peter Handscomb will join the Australian squad as a substitute fielder for the remainder of the Test match against South Africa at the SCG.

Nick: "Is there any scenario where Uzzie wouldn't be given the chance to score the 5 runs he needs for his double century?" Potentially if they need the time to take 20 wickets.

Sam: "I wonder if we'll ever see a test match played at Docklands stadium in Melbourne (with a roof)?" There would need to be a significant improvement in both the pitch there and the outfield. But the stadium is owned by the Australia Football League and cricket is not a priority for them as shown by the pitches and outfields there in the BBL.

Rahul: "Why is there suddenly so much commentary about Smith's future? Surely he has another good 3-4 years left in him, particularly now that he's playing less T20s. " He has raised it himself with some cryptic answers in press conferences recently but he has clarified this morning that he's keen to keep playing for awhile yet.

9.35am Here is Tristan Lavalette's report from day two which was dominated by Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith.

Gnasher noted there was a sense of Deja vu watching Khawaja yesterday with some interesting thoughts from Keshav Maharaj about his improvements against spin.

Steven Smith gave some interesting quotes himself about his future following his 30th Test century yesterday.

Sampath Bandarupalli provided the key stats from day of prolific runscoring for Australia.

Meanwhile, Cameron Green has provided an update on his broken finger and revealed he's "touch and go" to be fit for the first Test in India starting on February 9.

Day 3 9.30am Good morning and welcome to the SCG for the day three of this third Test between Australia South Africa. It's not good news from the SCG today though. It is Pink Day in honour of Jane McGrath and in support of the McGrath foundation for breast cancer but rain is set to ruin the festivities and the cricket. Andrew McGlashan is at the SCG and has given this grim outlook: "Morning from the SCG. Not overly promising at the moment. The covers are on and showers are coming across the ground. The players were warming up but are now inside. Reckon we might need a decent dose of luck today." Play is due to start at 10am with an extended first session again but that seems unlikely at the moment. We've lost a total of 49 overs in the Test so far. We lost 43 overs on day one and six yesterday despite playing longer hours trying to make up time.

Dera: "They need to either the swap the Pink Test from Sydney or move the starting dates of the match. For some eerie reason, it has been a pattern over the last many years that Boxing day and the following day is scorching hot in Melbourne and there'll be lots of rain from 4-6th June in Sydney, which is when the Pink Test match starts. " Doubt it will move anytime soon but it's becoming a serious concern for CA.

5.28pm Play has been called off for the day. We'll start at 10am tomorrow as well, and for the rest of this Test match. We'll have to see how Australia view this situation now vis a vis time remaining and a declaration. Anyway, that's that from us today. We hope you've enjoyed our coverage. See you tomorrow, bright an early. Until then, it's goodbye from me, Alex, Chandan and Gnasher.

5.20pm Gnasher says it's a little brighter now at the SCG, and the rain lighter. But no movement from the groundstaff yet. Oh, and the attendance today is 27,663.

Mahesh: "Hi Karthik. What's the absolute latest play can go to if we resume? 6pm local?" -- 7pm, I think.

5.01pm Thanks, Alex. Just as play was about to resume, the drizzle intensified, and we're off again. Khawaja will remain on 195 until this blows over. And if we lose a decent chunk of time, might Australia declare without waiting for his double?

Just before the players went off, Khawaja was on the spidercam on Fox saying the ball was getting wet because the outfield is wet. The umpires told him they'd keep changing the ball if it kept getting wet.

Mustafa Moudi : "Are you sure Karthik that 150 Runs filter is innings and not Total in the season ?? I Think the filter is all Players who have score at least 150 Runs in the entire season !!" -- Nah, it's the "runs scored in an innings" filter.

Steve: "A question: When was the last time the Top 5 Australian batsmen all scored an innings of 150 during the Australian test summer?" -- This is the first time five Australia batters have made 150-plus scores in a home season, if my Statsguru skills are on point.

Ryan M: "Seems unlikely that Australia would bat only once unless a) South Africa collapse spectacularly in their first innings (not out of the question), or b) rain interrupts at a convenient point late in South Africa's first innings to give the bowlers a break. With just the four frontline bowlers, and only two quicks, it's hard to imagine Cummins not wanting a break between innings."

Hugh: "Do you not think that with rain in the forecast Australia will be looking to bat only once and therefore will try to push on to 600 or so?" -- Yeah, that's a possibility too.

Tom: "When was the last time an Australian batsman faced 400 balls in an innings?" -- David Warner, when he made his triple against Pakistan in 2019. You'll have to go all the way back to 2011-12 for the previous instance.

Drinks The umpires have called a surprise drinks break as they want to have a look at changing the ball. So we will take a break. Declaration is still a possibility but the weather and the light may change things for Australia if and when Usman Khawaja reaches 200. They would hate to declare and then not be able to bowl tonight. KK will step in.

ZK23: "Rabada is completely knackered, there is nothing to worry about in terms of losing pace. I feel it is his workload that is the issue and he must be managed. It also doesn't help when the SA batsmen are giving the fast bowlers so little time to recover between the first and second innings."

It is raining but they are playing on. The umpires check the light but it's OK apparently

Peter: "I made a comment in the last Test that Rabada had burst onto the scene as a low-to-mid-140s quick but was now barely bowling faster than Glenn McGrath. He's gone down even further this match, now struggling to hit 130kmh. If he's not injured, this is an alarming decline."

Matt Renshaw on return. First Test since 2018. With Covid. Batting for a declaration