Match abandonedpublished at 13:10 BST

13:10 BST

That's it, folks.

The rain is still coming down pretty heavily and the inevitable has come to pass: match abandoned.

One point each means Australia move to the top of the table but no doubt Sri Lanka are the happier of the sides with this outcome - albeit they might have liked to test themselves against the defending champions.

We're going to leave it there for today. Join us tomorrow for the big one - India v Pakistan - when we hope the weather in Colombo will be significantly better than today!

Weather update time... and it's as you were.

The huge puddles - which are admittedly off the fully-covered field of play - are still being added to by heavy rain and the chance of getting any play today looks slim.

It is now actually far nicer weather here in Salford, where the rain has stopped and the sun is trying to poke through the clouds.

No such luck in Colombo.

It's still raining...published at 12:00 BST

12:00 BST

Back in Colombo and it is bad news, I'm afraid.

What was fairly steady drizzle has turned into a real downpour and, if the gloom engulfing the ground is anything to go by, that isn't changing any time soon.

We'll update you if things change but if you were planning your Saturday around watching/ listening/ following this one then it might be time for a rethink.

Ffion Wynne
BBC Sport cricket writer in Guwahati

England needed to make a statement in their World Cup opener against South Africa - and they delivered it tenfold.

Criticism swirled round the team after their group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup this time last year and the 16-0 Ashes thrashing in January.

In fact, ever since that 2024 winter of discontent, news conferences, articles and the narrative of pretty much every game they have played has been dominated by what had gone so badly wrong before.

Subsequent series wins over West Indies counted for little because of the standard, while defeats by India reopened the cracks.

Their script needed rewriting - and yes, there is a long way to go from winning their first game of the tournament - but the emphatic nature of this 10-wicket win against South Africa was exactly what was needed.

England's win in Guwahati was set up by left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who only made her ODI debut against West Indies this year after a couple of stints in and out of the T20 set-up.

When discussing what made Smith so unique and successful, fellow slow left-armer Alex Hartley said: "She's an in-swing bowler, really. She can spin it and she will spin a few, but in her action, she's got a really low arm so the trajectory of the ball is constantly following you as a right-hander.

"You see her start wider, and the ball swings into the pads. We saw a couple of occasions with the South Africa batters prodding forward and the ball going between the bat and pad so with somebody like Smith, the inside edge is the threat rather than the outside.

"She gets way more drift and movement through the air than most other spinners, it is the dream as a left-arm spinner. She is an incredibly tough bowler to face because you don't have many options - you can't sweep her either, because she's skiddy and that will challenge the lbw."

Ffion Wynne
BBC Sport cricket writer in Guwahati

England bowled South Africa out for just 69 as they made a winning start to their Women's World Cup campaign with a ruthless 10-wicket thrashing in Guwahati.

Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith was the pick of the bowlers with 3-7, claiming the prized wickets of Laura Wolvaardt, in-form opener Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp.

Sinalo Jafta was the only batter to reach double figures in a dismal batting performance which saw the Proteas bundled out for their third-lowest ODI total in just 20.4 overs.

Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt took 2-5 in her first competitive bowling spell since the Ashes, while spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean also picked up two wickets apiece.

Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont then cruised to their target in 14.1 overs, having started somewhat cautiously on a tricky surface, finishing with 40 and 21 respectively.

Right then, enough of Mike's humble brags...

It looks like we could be in for quite a wait with the full covers on and no sign of the ground staff - or anyone at all - on our feed of Colombo.

So now seems like a good time to look back a very impressive start to the World Cup for England yesterday...

Mike Peter
BBC Sport journalist

23:10, since you're asking.

Adequate in the conditions and managing a flaky hamstring after Robin Hood Half last weekend.

It looks like it is quite a close call as to whether the weather is more objectionable in Colombo or Salford right now.

But despite the wind and torrential rain here, my colleague Mike Peter has not only done a park run this morning, he also cycled into the office.

Yet another reason to question the man's sanity...

Sri Lanka have had a very tough start to World Cup, playing the two favourites in their first two games.

After falling to a 59-run (DLS) defeat by India in the tournament opener, things aren't getting any easier today against Australia.

A point for an abandoned match wouldn't be the worst thing for them but given they haven't played an ODI against the Aussies since 2019, I fancy they'll be pretty keen to get out there at some stage!

Is rain the only way to stop Australia?

Given how they turned a tricky situation at 128-5 against New Zealand into a convincing 89-run win, it might just be.

Watch how Ash Gardner hit them out of trouble with a brilliant century - and all the best action from that game in Indore below...

The rain returns...published at 10:42 BST

10:42 BST

I wondered why the cover had gone back on the main square. Now we know.

It's raining again and the entire playing surface is covered by a blue tarpaulin. Not good.

It is a pretty impressive operation to get the whole ground shielded from the rain so swiftly. There's no chance of a soggy patch on the outfield holding up a restart later anyway.

Australia all-rounder Annabel Sutherland: "I am feeling good. Only a few days between games but we are excited to be here and ready for today.

“We feel like we have had a pretty good lead into the tournament. We had a pretty big challenge against India which we have learnt a lot from and we are excited for what is ahead."

On the chat post the India game: "Having that big partnership through the middle of the innings is really key in 50-over cricket. That is something we will look to do today and our top order is hungry for runs.

“We bat really deep and it frees up the top order and that is a strength of ours. It is nice to utilise that but it will be nice to see the top order do the majority of the work through the innings today.”

On how they occupy time in the dressing room: “A bit of chat, pretty casual and hopefully we get into things quickly.”

On Sri Lanka: “Chamari Athapaththu is key up the top and they have quality spin throughout so we expect spin through the middle today.”

Before the rain arrived, Australia's Annabel Sutherland was interviewed about today's game.

Let's see what she had to say...

The main square was briefly open to the elements but has been covered again now.

It's hard to tell whether it has started drizzling again, if it's just a precaution or if the ground staff know that more rain is on the way.

For now, though, the wait goes on.

This is the forecast for the rest of the day in Colombo. It doesn't look great but it doesn't look terminal either.

We might be in for a stop-start sort of day...

Toss delayedpublished at 10:20 BST

10:20 BST

The rain means that the toss has been delayed and there were covers across the entire playing surface just a few minutes ago.

However, the rain has stopped, there has been some movement from the ground staff and covers have started to be removed. So fingers crossed that things can get started before too long.

Image source, Getty Images

Having battled Storm Amy to make it into the office in Salford, I was thinking it might be quite nice to be out in sunny Colombo to cover today's game.

Well, it turns out the weather isn't too dissimilar over there.

Not the start any of us, least of all the Australia and Sri Lanka players wanted today...