It was going to take more than English-like drizzle to stop the Barmy Army descending on the SCG.
The sting went out of this Ashes contest a long time ago and the opening salvo of the series finale was an unmitigated fizzer.
Those locals hoping for David Warner to repeat the blaze of boundaries he smacked last year, posting a century before lunch on day one of the corresponding Test, instead arrived to see the covers on.
Those visitors hoping for England to raze Australia's top order instead watched rain fall.
There wasn't a single delivery, shot or sledge during the opening session.
It would have been a test of patience for those younger fans more accustomed to seeing almost an entire Big Bash League game in the same time it took the heavy covers to come on, off, on and off (and very little else).
But the vast majority of the sold-out crowd arrived early and stayed in their seats throughout the delay, gripped with a sense of expectation that was incongruous with the 3-0 series scoreline but in line with the importance of the sport's most famed rivalry.
Some members started queuing in the middle of the night. The sensible ones packed ponchos and umbrellas.
The delayed start in Sydney means all five Tests in the series have been affected by wet weather. It's also the third straight year the SCG Test has been interrupted by showers.
Steve Smith, the superstitious superstar who is within striking distance of breaking even more records, could be forgiven for wondering what he has done to worry the weather gods.
The good news for Smith, already the first Australian captain to score more than 600 runs in an Ashes series since Don Bradman, is the rest of the game's forecast is more positive.
Smith will have his chance to equal Bradman, currently the only Australian to score four hundreds in an Ashes series, in one statistical sense.
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