Weather threatens to ruin Australia vs South Africa semi-final

Australia’s hopes of capturing a sixth World Cup crown are hanging in the balance with a nasty forecast hanging overhead.

Australia’s hopes of capturing a sixth World Cup crown are in serious threat and it has nothing to do with their rivals.

Instead it’s a threat from above that could bring an end to their dreams of advancing to the final, before they even manage to play their semi-final against South Africa.

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The India Meteorological Department issued a warning on Monday that a “cyclonic circulation” had entered the south Andaman Sea from the Gulf of Thailand.

“Under the influence of this system, a low pressure is likely to form over the southeast Bay of Bengal by Tuesday,” the statement said.

Australia are set to take on South Africa in the second semi-final on Thursday with their battle taking place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

It’s there where cyclonic conditions could develop with serious fears the weather system could wreak havoc on the World Cup clash.

The current forecast suggests a 60 per cent chance of rain on Thursday with that figure increasing to 90 per cent on Friday.

If the Thursday game is washed out, the reserve day for the contest is Friday … which looking at the forecast looks even less unlikely to play host to a match.

Rain rain go away. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)

The potentially damaging weather system spells disaster for the Aussies. If the match is ultimately washed out, it will be South Africa advancing through into the final.

Why? All because of where they finished on the standings following the group stages. South Africa edged Australia for second on the table with a superior net run rate.

If that were to happen it would be the first ever World Cup final berth for South Africa - despite the fact the team has reached the semi-final stage on four occasions.

South Africa are marching towards their first final. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)

Mitchell Starc said the Aussies have lived up to their reputation of “peaking at the right time” after overcoming a shaky start to win seven-straight World Cup matches.

“It’s been quite busy, the guys who were in Africa as well, I think we counted it’s like our 15th flight since we’ve been in India,” Starc said on the gruelling schedule.

“For the guys who were in Africa as well, it’s been a jam-packed 10 or 11 weeks. It’s a World Cup, it’s what we play for. We seem to be peaking at the right time which Australia tend to do in tournament play.”

The left arm-quick added: “Whilst we didn’t start the way we wanted to, we’ve certainly had good contributions from individuals along the way and we find ourselves in another World Cup semi-final.”