SOUTH Africa's recent experience in rain-shortened cricket matches may give them a slight advantage in the Twenty20 World Cup's Super Eights stage this week and next.
The Proteas do not play again until Friday, when they are likely to meet Pakistan, followed by Australia on Sunday and India next week on Tuesday.
The biennial tournament, being staged in Sri Lanka for the first time, coincides with the traditional start of the monsoon season in the region.
South Africa's match against Sri Lanka in Hambantota was reduced to seven overs a side on Saturday, this after the first four days of the tournament were free of rain.
Australia's match against the West Indies later that day was also a shortened affair.
But the Proteas should be well primed for rain-hit clashes after nine-over and 11-over matches against England a few weeks back.
"The short format games in England ... we learnt a lot from those," South African trump card Dale Steyn said. "Some people might laugh it off, only nine or seven overs. But there's a lot to learn from those games.
"Perhaps Sri Lanka were caught unawares [on Saturday]. We've already had two games like those under our belts," he said.
The long-term forecast for the tournament looks to be worsening. "There will be showers at times in the western, southern and central provinces," a meteorologist report said at the weekend. "By the first week of October, we will start getting more rains."
Colombo is on the west coast of Sri Lanka.
"In Colombo, we should expect rain at any time, especially heavy rains during the early morning and evening."
The ICC defended the timing of the event yesterday.
"This was the only period available in the Future Tours Programme this year to conduct the tournament," an ICC spokesman said.
"All the teams were aware of it."
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