NZ Women vs SA Women, 6th Match at Derby, , Jun 28 2017 - Match Result

That's all from us for the day. Join us tomorrow for the double-header: India play West Indies at Taunton, while Australia take on Sri Lanka at Bristol.

With three points under their belt, New Zealand and South Africa now occupy the first and second spots respectively on the points table.

And a word or two from the South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk: "Yeah, some girls took part in indoor nets so they don't get bored. We were lucky enough to have been there (in Leicester, where they played Pakistan and will play their next game against West Indies) at the start, so we know the pitch there. We had a close game last time, so some things to rectify. Lucky our games are broadcast at home. Girls are enjoying; never had my phone buzzed so much due to the excitement around the World Cup."

Here's Suzie Bates on the washout: "Yeah, when you come to England you don't know how weather will be. Look, we both turned up, both wanted to play. Nothing you can do, just gotta move on. It looked pretty bad when we got here in the morning anyway. So we let the girls do what they wanted. Never looked like we will play. [As for the 100th game], yeah, it'll come eventually. Hopefully I get picked for it (giggles). We'll get there next time."

The captains, however, are yet to have their say.

While we hoped for the rain gods to show relent, what started out at 'Downpour in Derby' soon turned into 'Deluge in Derby'. Jarrod Kimber, who's done the hard work watching the rains (and Mr. Wilson), fittingly adds the postscript to the Wednesday thriller damp squib: "The players are shaking hands. Blocker Wilson cannot be seen. Maybe this is it, the end of times. The last day on earth. Or it's been called off. It's off. It's off. BLOCKER HAS SPOKEN."

2.15pm Play has been abandoned due to incessant rain, which means the two teams will split the points.

2.10pm "The New Zealanders are now juggling. It's either a hand eye co-ordination thing or they are trying to convince Blocker Wilson that the conditions are fine. They're not, obviously, and it will be called off shortly," says Jarrod. Yes, he can be as relentless as the rain.

"Annesha, why won't they call it off, I've seen off two ball-by-ballers without a ball bowled. Will I be trapped in a wet Derby making bad jokes about the size of a man who took the ODI wicket of Jacques Kallis twice and Craig Spearman once for the rest of eternity?" The jury is still out on that question, Jarrod.

Jasbir Singh: "Is he Paul Wilson or Blocker Wilson?" Well... let's say Paul has a doppelganger nicknamed Blocker.

YJB asks, "Do you have an images of the aforementioned Mr Wilson - I gather from commentary so far that there is quite a substantial amount of him?" Sure, we do, YJB. But if you'd like a pen picture of Mr. W, look no further than Mr. K(imber)'s live sketch from Derby: "Blocker Wilson was standing in front of the press box, and despite us being on the second floor, he was obscuring our vision of the field, and greater Derby. But now he has moved I can confirm it is still raining and the outfield is now the consistency of over milked porridge. We are as likely to play here as we are to singing a duet with Taylor Swift."

And now my watch has ended. A girl has no name, but Annesha surely does. She will keep you company for the next hour or so.

1.30pm The New Zealand players have been spotted signing autographs for the enthusiastic kids who have come in large numbers for the game. Sadly, all these activities are happening indoors. The weather remains the same.

More from Jarrod, whose description about the wet field doesn't sound too promising: "The South African players are carefully walking around the outfield, they can barely walk in their sneakers it's so wet, plus they are worried about falling into any of Blocker Wilson's massive footprints." -- for those writing in, Mr Wilson is one of the two umpires for the match.

Mary Jane Watso: "Thanks Annesha and Sreshth for that note on the pink ball women's Test. I think the T20 leagues like WBBL have been particularly great in advertising women's cricket to the world. I'm sure the day-night Test with the pink ball is going to be as fun."

1.10pm The covers are still firmly on. The umpires, standing under their respective umbrellas, say: "Another inspection at 2 o'clock. We need a three-pronged thing for play to start - the wind, the sun, and some good drainage. Hopefully we can have some play today." - A quick reminder that for a 20-over game to happen, play must start by 3.53 pm. The skies did have a bluish tinge though, a stark improvement from the grey skies earlier in the day.

1.05pm Nothing's changed since our coverage started. It continues to rain, continues to be damp and Jarrod - who may or may not be digging into a cottage pie - continues to track umpire Wilson's movements. He says, "There are kids chanting, we want cricket, we want cricket. They are not getting it, currently Blocker Wilson is covering himself with a temporary stand as a conventional umbrella is not big enough for him."

Good to see Peter hasn't forgotten the bowlers. He adds: "my top 3 bowling performances are Huddlestons 5 for (any 5 wicket haul has to be good), Daniels' 4 maidens and 2 for 21 and Sharma's 3 for 47 against strong opposition is notable. As for batting, Sciver was brilliant but lets not forget the way Mandhana made her 90 was pretty impressive"

Meanwhile, Jarrod has been patient all morning at the ground. But, he too, may have had enough. "I've set my sat nav for home...but in the mean time Blocker Wilson has borrowed Suzie Bates' bat and is trying to hit the clouds away."

Monish has his say, "Mithali's 70 odd was my favorite. Has anyone ever seen a mistimed shot off her bat?"

Ravish says, "Sciver and Knight's brilliant centuries under pressure when England were 2 down for 42 runs!" -- It's been a season of partnerships, hasn't it? Incidentally, both batsmen got their maiden ODI tons yesterday in another rain-hit match. Here's the report of that game if you missed it.

12.30pm There's still not much to add about the game. ICC's website says, "So the umpires went for a pitch inspection with their umbrellas... not the best sign that things are going to change quickly. " Jarrod, though, keeps his eyes fixed on Blocker Wilson's movements. He adds: "Wilson is now doing a full rendition of lord of the dance in order to tilt earth of its axis to move Derby away from these clouds." Let's hope that works.

While we wait for play (sigh) to start, let's talk about some outstanding individual performances of the tournament yet. To refresh our memories, there have been four centuries and one five-wicket haul so far. Which has been your favourite and why?

LOHITH : "Every five minutes pls update the status.... " There there, Lohith. Not much has changed since...well, today morning. The umpires are doing their bit to make the rain vanish though. Jarrod adds: "Currently Blocker Wilson is standing out on the outfield trying to scare the rain away. Earlier he fought Mothra in an epic battle."

12.10pm: More updates coming in from Jarrod: "The umpires are out having a look at the ground and now talking to the groundsmen. It's still raining. I was a bit worried that Blocker Wilson, one of today's umpires, might have sunk into a giant sinkhole, but at the moment, that does not seem to have happened. Although every time he steps it's possible he's creating new puddles, or at the least, shaking the existing puddles like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park." Over to Sreshth now to keep you entertained for the next hour or so.

Eric "This may seem out of the context. Do you have any schedule for women's cricket for the next 6 or 12 months? As interesting as men's cricket?" For starters, one can always lick their chops at the prospect of watching the likes of Natalie Sciver, Heather Knight, Suzie Bates, Stafanie Taylor have a whack during the Kia Super League this August. Remember, India allrounder Harmanpreet Kaur will play alongside Sciver for Surrey Stars this season. Later this year, there's also the third edition of the Women's Big Bash League in Australia that promises more fireworks than we've seen so far. Plus, sandwiched between these two domestic T20 leagues is the first day-night women's Test from November 9-12, as part of the women's Ashes, that will mark the debut of the pink ball in women's cricket.

11:55am The covers are still on, the outfield is getting some more bathing, and the umpires are likely to carry out an inspection after 12:00 noon.

11:40am "The groundsmen have said it will take two hours to get the ground ready. There are some decent puddles out there. The earliest they can call it off is 13.53. It would need a miracle the size of Pakistan winning the Champions Trophy to get any play today," reports the mega word goblin, Jarrod Kimber.

Naveen Sangwan: "@Simon If English summer is so short with plenty of rain, then they should come up with top roof stadiums such as Dockland in Australia (home of Melbourne Renegades in BBL). Remember, Natwest T20 blast starts on 7th July. Can anyone pray to the Rain Gods about this issue." And you also have the second edition of Kia Super League, the women's T20 tournament hosted by the ECB, that's scheduled to get underway on August 10.

11:30am Word trickling in from the County Ground. Kimber says, "Still raining, there are four of the South Africa support staff out on the ground now. They are the first people I've seen on the ground since I got here."

11.10am "Still raining in Derby. Umpires will have an inspection 1 hour from now. Latest this match can start is 15:53," reads the latest tweet from Cricket South Africa. We'll start losing overs from 11.52am.

11.00am Here's a word on the 'Downpour in Derby' romance from Jarrod Kimber, who has (hopefully) ensconced himself somewhere warm and dry at the ground: "The rain is pretty light, but very consistent." Meanwhile, here's some required reading on what some of the New Zealand and South Africa players had to say about the big strides made by the women's game over the past decade.

10.40am More rains and little respite in Derby at the moment. Looks like it's going to be a while before we can get to the toss.

Simon Roche: "In response to Naveen Sangwan, what more can we expect! We have enjoyed our summer in the last week or so, back to the usual now. I think the English summer is due to fall on a Wednesday next year."

Madhu: "What does White Ferns mean?" That's the nickname New Zealand Cricket use for their women's team, just as they call their men Black Caps.

Kaushik: "Come on shouldn't be raining I was looking forward to this game after my day has been spent in a Twitter banter on Kohli-Kumble controversy!!" How about now burning some fuel on this quiz on the stars featuring in this World Cup?

10.15am While it continues to rain, here is Mark Nicholas on how a competitive world cup will spread women's cricket further.

Naveen sangwan: "What's wrong with this weather in UK? Does it rain 24x7? We need to see some cricket going without any interruption of any kind. First CT and now WWC. "

Hussain: "3:53pm local time?" --- Yes, indeed. I'm afraid it's going to be that kind of a day. "No play likely before lunch time," is the latest tweet from White Ferns

10.02am The toss should have happened by now. However, it is not to be. The hover cover, and the additional covers are on. There are also big puddles around them. To add to it, certain patches in the outfield appear squishy. The forecast for the rest of the day does not seem promising.

It's very unlikely there'll be play before an hour or more. The latest the game can start, for a 20-over shootout, is 3.53pm

9.50am Gloomy update from Nottingham Road. It's been raining since morning. Cricket South Africa has tweeted "Bad news from Derby, rain pouring steadily and doesn't look to be abating anytime soon."

9.30am Good morning, everyone. Two teams that opened their campaigns with contrasting wins clash today. While New Zealand sauntered home in the tournament opener, South Africa unravelled spectacularly before huffing and puffing to victory. Bates led the way for New Zealand with an excellent hundred. How about another hundred to celebrate her 100th ODI? Drum rolls, please. She is set to become only the eighth New Zealand woman to reach the landmark. Here's what Bates said ahead of the big occasion.