The traditional New Year's Sydney cricket Test has been plagued by rain in recent years. Three of the last six matches have ended in rain-affected draws, and the SCG has earned a reputation as a good place for fans to read a book or do a little socialising in the bar, rather than watch cricket.

But this week's Test between Australia and India, starting Thursday, appears to have every chance of five days of play with minimal rain interruptions.

Sydney, of course, is the second-wettest capital city in Australia (after Darwin). The bulk of its rain comes in summer and autumn – unlike Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne where rainfall tends to be heaviest in winter, and good summer cricket weather is more reliable.

So it's no great shock that rain often stops play in Sydney at this time of year.

Image: Here's hoping the only thing that ends play early is Australia comfortably beating India. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

What's surprising is that in this La Nina summer – when Sydney has recorded rain on 23 of the last 27 days, including the last 10 days straight – we look like we might get through this week's Test with only a few drops of rain, and if we're really lucky, none at all.

In fact, the current 10-day rainy streak is the most consecutive rain days for this time of year since 2011, the year of last significant La Nina. 

Here's the forecast from Weatherzone meteorologist Esteban Abellan:

• Thursday January 7 (day one) and Friday January 8 (day two): windy, with temperatures in the low 20s during the day. Mostly cloudy with a moderate chance (40%) of light showers.
• Saturday January 9 (day three): Partly cloudy. Top of 25 degrees.
• Sunday January 10 (day four): Mostly sunny. Top of 27.
• Monday January 11 (day five): Partly cloudy. Top of 27.

Now, if only we could feel as positive about the contributions from the Australian batting order.