The Women's Ashes begins on Tuesday, with England bidding for a third successive victory.

Taunton hosts the first of three one-day internationals as England return to action for the first time since beating New Zealand down under in February this year.
England captain Charlotte Edwards is expecting a fiercely-contested summer against the World Cup holders.
"This is the biggest series I have probably played in," she said.
"With how the last two have gone, and how the two teams have developed, it's going to be one of the most exciting series.
"To test yourself against the best team is what you want to do as a player so hopefully we will do that in the next few weeks."
While England won 12-4 on points on home soil in 2013 in the first multi-format Women's Ashes, and then retained the trophy by triumphing 10-8 in Australia in January 2014, the Southern Stars have been their nemesis in global tournaments in that time.
Australia won the 2013 World Cup, having defeated England in the Super Six stage along the way. Had that result gone the other way, England rather than Australia would have faced West Indies in the final.
The Southern Stars have also won the past three Women's World Twenty20 events, beating England in two of those finals - narrowly triumphing by four runs in Colombo in 2012, and then thrashing Edwards's side by six wickets in Mirpur two years later.
But like their male counterparts, Australia have not won the Ashes in England since 2001.
There was - not unpredictably - disquiet from Australia when England won the last Women's Ashes 10-8 as the Southern Stars had prevailed in four of the seven matches, but England took six points from winning the only Test.
The points system has been amended for this summer, with only four points for a win - and two for a draw - available from the Test, a system described as "fairer" by new Australia coach Matthew Mott.
The results of the three ODIs also count towards the ICC Women's Championship, which determines qualification for the 2017 World Cup.
It is 14 months since the names of the first 18 female players to be awarded full-time central contracts by the England and Wales Cricket Board were announced.
Since then, England suffered a shock Test defeat by India last summer but then won the ODI series 2-0, before beating South Africa 3-0 in a Twenty20 series - then in February, they enjoyed ODI (3-2) and T20 (2-1) series wins in New Zealand.
Wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor feels that becoming fully professional has given a huge lift to the squad.
"It's benefited us massively in terms of the contact time with coaches. That contact time has increased," Taylor told BBC Sport.
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"In terms of the training, not much has changed, but it's that comfort of knowing that we don't have to worry about the money side of things. The interest in women's cricket has rocketed."
Edwards added: "To spend the last four months together three days a week at Loughborough has been really valuable for us.
"It has been really hard work at times - but I think we are ready to get out there and hopefully showcase our skills in the biggest arena."
But does greater interest and full-time professionalism mean greater pressure for success?
"I don't think there's necessarily added expectation from within," pace bowler Anya Shrubsole said.
"Probably for those first series against India and South Africa after we turned professional, there was greater expectation from the media and from outside that suddenly we were going to blow everyone away, but realistically it's not like that.
"Other international teams may not be professional by name, but they train full-time, just as we did before we turned professional. By being England and being as successful as we have been, there's always been expectation."
Australia leg-spinner Kristen Beams is the only player in their ODI squad who has never faced England in a full international.
The same goes for all-rounder Delissa Kimmince, who has only been selected for the Twenty20 portion of the tour, while Beams, opener Nicole Bolton and all-rounder Jess Jonassen all have plenty of limited-overs experience but are awaiting their Test debuts.
"We are a really excited group of girls who are ready to go," said skipper Meg Lanning.
"It looks like it will be a pretty good wicket and hopefully there will be plenty of runs scored by both sides."
Among the England squad, left-arm spinner Rebecca Grundy has never played in an Ashes series - while Grundy, seamer Georgia Elwiss and keeper-batter Amy Jones have not yet featured in a Test.
England ODI squad: Charlotte Edwards (Kent, capt), Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire), Kathryn Cross (Lancashire), Georgia Elwiss (Sussex), Lydia Greenway (Kent), Rebecca Grundy (Warwickshire), Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire), Amy Jones (Warwickshire, wk), Heather Knight (Berkshire), Laura Marsh (Kent), Natalie Sciver (Surrey), Anya Shrubsole (Somerset), Sarah Taylor (Sussex, wk), Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire).
Australia squad: Meg Lanning (capt), Alex Blackwell (vice-capt), Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton (Test and ODIs only), Jess Cameron, Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince (T20 internationals only), Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.


Former Arsenal player Emmanuel Frimpong was sent off playing for Russian side FC Ufa after he gestured to the crowd with his middle finger in response to alleged monkey chants.

The midfielder, 23, was playing away to Spartak Moscow in the opening game of the Russian Premier League season.
"When the match was stopped, the fans started shouting 'monkey' at me," said Ghana's Frimpong after the 2-2 draw.
"I just did not keep my cool, I showed my emotions and it was my mistake."
Frimpong was shown the red card after half an hour of the game in Moscow, with the score at 1-1.
He wrote on Twitter after the match: "A human being shouldn't be racially abused for the game that I love. I'm going to serve a sentence for being abused."
Ufa general director Shamil Gazizov said his club would not be calling for Spartak to be punished, describing it as an "unfortunate incident".
"There were people who could have shouted things. These are emotions which go away after the game. We are partners with the red and whites and are on good terms," he said.
"What Frimpong did was wrong. Sometimes you even have to hold back the tears and just put up with it."
Russia hosts the next World Cup in 2018, and Frimpong added: "Abused... and yet we going to hold a World Cup in this country where Africans will have to come play football."
Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure, who has been racially abused while playing in Russia in the Champions League, has previously said  black players might boycott the World Cup unless the country tackles racism in football.
Last season, Dynamo Moscow's Congolese defender Christopher Samba was banned for two matches for gesturing to fans following racist abuse.
There have been more than 200 cases of discriminatory behaviour linked to Russian football over the past two seasons.
But in March former head of Russian football Vyacheslav Koloskov said too much is made of racism in the country and has also questioned why monkey chants are assumed to be racist.


Ohio officials are investigating after a drone dropped a package full of illegal drugs into a prison yard, sparking a fight over the contraband.

The package was delivered to Mansfield Correctional Institution - a prison about 65 miles (110km)southwest of Cleveland- on 29 July, officials said.
The box contained small amounts of marijuana, heroin and tobacco.
More than 100 inmates were in the prison yard when the fight broke out, but no inmates or staff were hurt.
Nine prisoners who were involved in the fight were placed in solitary confinement.
JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said this is the latest in series of attempts to deliver prison contraband via drones.
Ms Smith said the agency is taking steps to stop drones before they enter the grounds of prisons.


Tesco is cementing its recovery in the UK after its first-quarter sales growth beat expectations.

Like-for-like sales - which strip out the impact of new stores - rose by 2.3% in the three months to 27 May, boosted by demand for fresh food.
Analysts had expected a rise of 2.2% after Tesco reported an increase of 0.7% in the fourth quarter.
Tesco will face shareholders on Friday who are expected to question a pay deal awarded to chief executive Dave Lewis.
Mr Lewis was given a £142,000 package to help him move to a house closer to Tesco's headquarters in  Welwyn Garden City. This was on top of his £4.1m pay packet.
He defended the relocation costs, saying that similar payouts were made to other members of staff.
"We move a lot of people around - store managers in particular," he said. "The policy we have is to pay the legal fees, stamp duty and in some cases moving costs. The board offered me exactly the same policy that everyone else gets."
Commenting on its first-quarter results, Mr Lewis described current market conditions as "tough" but said: "This is a good start to the year, with our sixth consecutive quarter of positive like-for-like sales growth across the group."
In the UK, Tesco said that fresh food in particular had performed well between March and May, with like-for-like sales up 1.6%.
The company also said that it "worked hard" with its suppliers "to protect customers from inflationary pressures and to keep prices as low as possible".
Figures out this week revealed that average earnings fell by 0.6% in real terms in the three months to April, as pay rises were outstripped by rising inflation.
Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Recovery is continuing at Tesco, despite the squeeze on consumer incomes from weak wage growth and rising inflation.
"The going is still tough though, as the sector is highly competitive and a rising pound will put pressure on supermarket margins, so it remains to be seen just how much those higher sales will feed through into profits."
Mr Lewis has been attempting to refocus Tesco on its core supermarket business in the UK, which has seen it sell off the garden centre business Dobbies, restaurant chain Giraffe and the Harris & Hoole coffee shops.
The retailer said it was continuing with its plan to cut costs by £1.5bn, which includes selling its opticians business to High Street chain Vision Express and "repurposing" space in larger stores by linking up with Dixons Carphone to open Currys PC World outlets.
Tesco made no mention of its £3.7bn takeover of wholesaler and convenience store group Booker in Friday's trading update but is expected to face questions about the deal at its annual general meeting.
Schroders and Artisan Partners, both shareholders in Tesco, have said that Tesco is paying too much for Booker and wrote to the supermarkets group's chairman John Allan in March outlining their concerns.
The Competition and Markets Authority has also announced that it is considering whether to launch an investigation into the deal.
Across the Tesco group as a whole, like-for-like sales rose 1%. Its international division recorded a 3% fall in sales, which was mainly due to the company pulling out of bulk product sales in Thailand.


In this week's Scrubbing Up opinion column, Prof Mayur Lakhani chair of the Dying Matters Coalition, urges doctors to be more open and frank about preparing patients and their families for the end of life.

Imagine a situation where most people with a common condition are undiagnosed and where opportunities are repeatedly missed to identify the problem and to offer good care.
What is this condition? It's dying.
Each year, an estimated 92,000 people in England are believed to need end of life care but not receive it.
As a practising GP I have seen distressed relatives after a patient has died in hospital.
Often they have not had a chance to see their relative before they died and were unaware of the seriousness of the condition, despite repeated admissions with deteriorating conditions.
Many such patients are never formally identified as at risk of dying and not assessed for end of life care.
One relative said something that haunts me to this day: "I wish the doctors had told me that my mother was dying."
As a result too many people still die in distress with uncontrolled symptoms, or have futile interventions when this will not make any difference.
All of us, including doctors, must do more to talk about dying.
A new ComRes research for the Dying Matters Coalition confirms there is a widespread reluctance to talk about dying and death.
That is why we want to encourage people to talk more openly about dying and bereavement and to make plans around end-of-life care.
Most people have not made a plan of their choices and wishes in the event of a serious illness.
People often think there is plenty of time when the situation arises but often this is not the case and it can be too late.
Doctors are trained to cure, but as people live with long-term conditions, the medical profession needs to change how it works with dying patients.
We need to bring dying back into people's homes, rather than in hospital, care homes or hospices.
As increasing numbers of people develop and live with dementia, it is vital that doctors talk about the kind of end-of-life care people would choose, while people are healthy.
There's a huge change required in our culture, starting with the medical profession.
Having learnt a lot from the Canadian communications expert Prof Stephen Workman, I would urge doctors to do three things.
First, be compassionate but direct when talking about dying.
Doctors speaking to relatives about an ill patient who is giving cause for concern, should not just say "your husband is seriously ill", but should add "It is possible that he could die". This allows all involved to prepare.
Secondly, be honest and don't offer false hope.
Think twice about offering a false choice of procedures like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when someone is actually dying and chances of recovery are minuscule.
Instead offer supportive care to keep the patient comfortable and allow them to die a natural dignified death.
And, thirdly, when doctors diagnose a serious illness they should ask the patient whether they would like to talk about what they can expect and what is likely to happen.
Most people die from frailty in old age, and will be well known to health and social care services.
Importantly, this gives opportunities for talking about end of life wishes and advance care planning.
My ambition is to reduce the fear of dying and increase knowledge and awareness of palliative care.
It is vitally important that every person who is coming to the end of their life is spotted early enough and supported to make a good advance care plan.
I know just how hard it is to address issues like this in the frenzy of busy surgeries and wards.
But we as doctors need to up our game.
All of us, especially doctors can play a part in ensuring everyone is able to have a good death.


Eugenie Bouchard has begun legal action against the United States Tennis Association after suffering concussion following a fall at the US Open.

The Canadian slipped in the locker room at the Grand Slam event in September.
She withdrew from the tournament prior to a fourth-round match and pulled out of her comeback event at the China Open on 5 October because of dizziness.
The lawsuit alleges the 21-year-old world number 39 slipped on "a foreign and dangerous substance" in New York.
It also alleges negligence and includes a demand for a jury trial, with Bouchard seeking damages from the USTA and USTA National Tennis Center.
Her lawyer, Benedict Morelli, told the New York Times the substance was a cleaning agent intended to be left on the floor overnight when the room would no longer be used.
He claimed they could be seeking damages worth "millions and millions" of dollars.
Seeded 25th at Flushing Meadows, the 2014 Wimbledon runner-up suffered a head injury in a fall after playing mixed doubles on 4 September.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, includes the allegation Bouchard "was caused to slip and fall on a dangerous condition created by the defendants in the physiotherapy room attendant to the women's locker room".
It is claimed the defendants either caused or should have known of the floor condition, and that Bouchard was not made aware that it was slippery.
The lawsuit adds Bouchard sustained a "severe injury to her head, including, but not limited to, a concussion", and the injury also caused her to withdraw or retire from the subsequent Japan Open, Wuhan Open, China Open and Hong Kong Open tournaments, resulting in a fall of 13 ranking places.
It also says she continues to suffer pain as a consequence of the fall, resulting in medical costs and a loss of income, and it affects her quality of life.
The USTA has declined to comment on the lawsuit.


Two support workers who faced charges after a teenager drowned while swimming at a former quarry have been cleared.

Umar Balogun died while swimming at Bawsey Pits, Norfolk, in July 2013.
The 16-year-old had been taken to the beauty spot by carers Vanda Cawley and Kevin Roweth from Castle Homes centre, in Cambridgeshire.
The pair had denied failing to take reasonable care of the boy's safety. A jury at King's Lynn Crown Court found them not guilty.
Updates on this story and other Norfolk news
Swimming is banned at the pits, but many ignored warning signs.
Umar disappeared after diving under the surface of the water in the body of the former quarry, near King's Lynn.
He was at the lake with another boy and the two care workers, who had not seen a document which said Umar was a "high risk" for swimming, Norfolk Coroner's Court was told in 2015.
The inquest heard Umar had been tagged under a court order and was being cared for at the centre.
Umar's death was accidental, an inquest jury ruled.
Ryan Pettengell, 41, of King's Lynn, Norfolk, had swum out to look for Umar but he got into difficulties and also drowned.
An inquest concluded in 2014 Mr Pettengell's death was accidental.
Ms Cawley, 51, of Hazel Croft, Werrington, and Mr Roweth, 29, of Edinburgh Drive, Wisbech, had denied failing to take reasonable care of Umar's safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act.


Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said there is "candour" in the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia.

He was rebuked last week by Downing Street after suggesting the country backed "proxy wars" in the Middle East.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon played down reports of a rift between Mr Johnson and Theresa May, accusing the media of misreporting.
Labour insisted that Mr Johnson, who is currently on a visit to Saudi Arabia, had been "slapped down".
Speaking at a joint press conference in Riyadh with Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir, the foreign secretary said: "I'm here to emphasise the friendship that exists between the UK and Saudi Arabia, and that is something that is developing and expanding.
"And it's also fair to say that we believe in candour in our relationship. Now is the time for us to talk about the positive things that we are doing together."
Mr Johnson also met King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
The discussions in Riyadh covered counter-terrorism, the conflict in Syria, and the war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a multi-national coalition air campaign.
Mr Johnson said he understood Saudi security fears over the situation in Yemen - where the Houthi rebel movement, which champions Yemen's Zaidi Shia Muslim minority, has taken control of large parts of the country.
However, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the foreign secretary had repeated his profound concern about human suffering among Yemenis.
He also highlighted Mr Johnson's use of the word "candour", which he said was "usually diplomatic code for telling people something they don't want to hear".
However, our correspondent said contrary to many people's expectations Mr Johnson's visit "appears to have passed off smoothly" and will have brought the two countries "closer together than ever before".
Speaking after the meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir said Mr Johnson's comments about "proxy wars" had been taken out of context by the media and the matter was now closed.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the meeting between Mr Johnson and King Salman had been "warm and genial", adding: "They covered a broad sweep of history of UK-Saudi relations and shared interests in the region."
Last week, the Guardian newspaper published footage of a meeting in Rome at which the foreign secretary had said Saudi Arabia and Iran were involved in "proxy wars being fought the whole time" in the Middle East.
But the prime minister's spokeswoman later said that Mrs May wanted to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia, including supporting its efforts to help the "legitimate" government of Yemen.
She added: "Those are the prime minister's views - the foreign secretary's views are not the government's position on, for example, Saudi Arabia and its role in the region."
When questioned over this rebuke on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, Sir Michael Fallon said: "The media, with great respect, are starting to over-textualise every remark that [Mr Johnson] makes.
"Downing Street was asked whether this misreporting of what Boris had said, whether that was government policy. Downing Street simply answered the question."
He added: "Boris's comment, as we have already established, was taken out of context in the reporting that implied we didn't support Saudi Arabia."
The defence secretary also said: "The government is absolutely clear that what Saudi Arabia is entitled to do is defend itself."
Also speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, Labour's shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: "In over 20 years in Parliament, I've never heard a foreign secretary slapped down the way Theresa May slapped down Boris."
She added that Mr Johnson had been "right" in his reported comments, saying Saudi Arabia had been involved in "proxy wars" and "human rights abuses".


At least eight inmates have died at a prison in the city of Porto Velho in north-western Brazil.

The prisoners died from smoke inhalation after fellow inmates set mattresses alight in the Enio dos Santos jail in Rondonia state.
The prison director said the clash was set off by the transfer of the leader of a criminal gang to the jail, which is controlled by a rival gang.
Officials said there could be a link to a similar incident in Roraima state.
There, 10 inmates died in clashes on Sunday between a gang calling itself First Command of the Capital, or PCC, and their rivals, Comando Vermelho (Red Command), the state authorities said.
Police initially said 25 inmates had been killed, but the figure was later revised down.
The incident in Roraima happened during visiting hours. About 100 visitors were taken hostage and later freed.
Police said they had regained control of both jails.
Brazil has the world's fourth largest prison population, with more than 620,000 inmates.
The PCC is a powerful criminal gang first established in a Sao Paulo prison in 1993.
It has since expanded to become a powerful organisation which engages in drug trafficking far beyond the prison walls.
Its members frequently clash with those of the Comando Vermelho, a gang originally founded in Rio de Janeiro.
Many of the most powerful gang leaders, with reputations for violence and brutality, are often moved from jails far away from their home states but they are still able to run their criminal network from inside prison, says the BBC's Wyre Davis in Rio de Janeiro.


Hospital patients' lives are being put at risk by NHS staff's poor attention to intravenous fluid care, experts say.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says staff are either too overstretched or undertrained to provide for patients who are seriously dehydrated and need to be on a drip.
It is launching draft guidelines to remedy this.
A confidential inquiry found many patients received either too little or too much fluid, which can be fatal.
Data gathered by the National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (NCEPOD) suggests as many as one in five patients on intravenous (IV) fluids have complications or die because of inappropriate administration.
The NCEPOD says inexperienced junior doctors are being left to provide care.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says as well as a lack of training in IV fluid management, professionals may be overworked and unable to give patients the attention they need.
And experts often disagree on which IV fluids are best, leading to wide variation in practice.
Prof Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE, said: "Current pressures on the NHS and the people who work within it can mean staff without the right knowledge or training are sometimes left to look after people who may need intravenous fluid therapy - when fluids must be administered through a drip.
"Making sure someone has the right level of fluid in their body is fundamental to good, basic care but this isn't always happening. There can be serious consequences if the wrong amount or composition of IV fluids is prescribed."
If a person receives too much or too little fluid this can lead to problems such as fluid in the lungs, dangerously raised or lowered levels of potassium, sodium or nutrients such as glucose, and in some cases, heart failure.
NCEPOD chief executive Dr Marisa Mason said: "NCEPOD welcomes the new guideline on fluid management, which has addressed the concerns that we have highlighted in several of our reports during the last 10 years.
"The NICE single guideline is a positive move that will support healthcare staff provide good quality care to patients in need of intravenous fluid therapy."


Borussia Dortmund scored twice in injury time to snatch a dramatic Champions League victory over Malaga and secure a place in the semi-finals.

Marco Reus and then Felipe Santana struck for the German side, although the winning goal - poked home from a matter of inches - looked offside.
After a goalless first leg in Spain, Joaquin scored from 20 yards for Malaga before Robert Lewandowski equalised.
Substitute Eliseu looked to have scored Malaga's winner before the late goals.
Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp had talked before the match about his desire to see his team's "wonderful story" continue but it looked as though they would pay for wasting several good chances during the first leg.
Eliseu had finished from close range eight minutes from time - another goal allowed to stand despite a strong hint of offside - to leave Dortmund needing to score twice.
But the vociferous home crowd were sent into raptures as first Reus slotted home into an empty net from eight yards after the ball ran fortuitously into his path and then Santana pounced after a huge scramble inside the penalty box.
Several Dortmund players looked to be offside as the initial ball was played into the Malaga area and, seconds later, Santana was also in an offside position when he scored the winner, touching home a goal-bound effort from substitute Julian Schieber.
Dortmund's obvious joy was in stark contrast to the emotions of the defeated Malaga players, with a cruel end especially harsh on coach Manuel Pellegrini, who had only arrived in Dortmund on Tuesday after flying back from his native Chile, where he had attended the funeral of his father on Monday.
This was Malaga's first outing in the Champions League and there will be no possibility of a repeat next season as a series of off-the-field financial problems means they are banned from European competition for one campaign when they next qualify.
Dortmund remain the only undefeated team in the competition - but after a disjointed performance that required an ending reminiscent of Manchester United's victory over Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final to seal their progress.
There was no hint of the drama to come during an uninspired and largely chanceless opening period that ended when Joaquin left Marcel Schmelzer reeling with a deft turn before drilling his low left-foot strike through the legs of Neven Subotic from 20 yards.
My assistants and me were looking at each other in shock in the dressing room and saying 'this is crazy'. This is the best I've ever felt
Dortmund equalised shortly before the break, punishing Malaga for squandering possession close to the halfway line, with a sublime touch from Reus sending Lewandowski free at the end of a brisk counter attack.
The Polish striker still had work to do but skipped past visiting goalkeeper Willy with a decisive first touch before placing the ball into an empty net.
It did not dent Malaga's endeavour and they twice went close through headers from Joaquin either side of the break.
The first lacked power and was easily stopped but the second drew an athletic, stunning left-handed save from home keeper Roman Weidenfeller.
Dortmund occasionally threatened - Lewandowski had a shot saved and Mario Gotze blazed rashly wide - but coach Klopp became increasingly animated on the sidelines and by the hour mark his side had started to look ragged and short of inspiration against disciplined opponents.
Weidenfeller saved a ferocious long-range strike from Jeremy Toulalan that would surely have killed the tie before Willy made two stunning saves to maintain his team's advantage.
First Reus seemed certain to score after connecting with a low cross from Lukasz Piszczek and then a low strike from Gotze appeared to be heading into the bottom corner, but both times Willy saved with his legs.
However, Willy was powerless to prevent the late goals that saw Dortmund eliminate his team.


South African riot police clashed with opposition MPs hours after parliament absolved President Jacob Zuma over the use of some $23m (£14m) of state money to upgrade his private home in Nkandla.

They intervened after opposition MP Ngwanamakwetle Mashabela repeatedly called Mr Zuma a thief.
Four MPs were reportedly injured in the scuffle during the late-night session.
In March, the country's corruption investigator said Mr Zuma had "unduly benefited" from the improvements.
Public Protector Thuli Madonsela also accused him of unethical conduct and recommended he repay money used on non-security features in the renovation of his rural home in Nkandla, KwaZulu Natal province, which includes a swimming pool, cattle enclosure and chicken run.
But a parliamentary committee report - passed by a majority of African National Congress (ANC) MPs on Thursday - absolved Mr Zuma of any wrongdoing.
The government has always argued that the work was needed to improve security.
The fighting in parliament can be traced directly to two immediate factors - one is the recent influx of MPs from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. They are unapologetically rowdy and populist, and have energised - not always in a constructive way - an institution that many South Africans, numbed by the ANC's overwhelming majority, had apparently stopped caring about.
The second factor is the scandal about the lavish taxpayer-funded renovations to President Zuma's private home in Nkandla that will not disappear. Although many senior ANC figures have privately expressed deep unease about the issue, the party has publically rallied around the president. The last straw came in the shape of an ad-hoc parliamentary committee that exonerated Mr Zuma of any personal wrongdoing, after opposition members had left it in frustration. The ANC then used its majority to adopt the committee's report on Thursday.
South Africa's opposition is usually divided in parliament - and outside - to the advantage of the ANC. But Nkandla has seen political rivals united against the governing party with unusual vigour and co-ordination. It could be a sign of things to come - an opposition coalition one day strong enough to challenge the ANC's majority.
What brawl reveals about South African democracy
There were heated scenes before the vote, as MPs from several opposition parties attempted to filibuster the session in Cape Town's parliament.
Ms Mashabela, a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, made her comments in one of the debates that followed.
"President Zuma is a thief. He is a criminal. He is the greatest thief in the world," she said.
When she refused to withdraw the statement and refused to be removed from the chamber by an official, the riot police intervened.
By this stage the parliamentary TV feed was cut.
Scuffles broke out between officers on the one side and MPs from the opposition Democratic Alliance and the EFF on the other.
According to South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper, ANC MP Lindiwe Zulu was involved in a brawl with an EFF MP in the corridor outside the chamber before Thursday's debate.
'Racist and fascist'
The ANC criticised the "chaotic circus" and "unruly conduct" of MPs.
"The dangerous alliance of a racist DA and a fascist EFF driven by a common hatred and disdain for the ANC has once again displayed its contempt for our democratic institutions," ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa said in a statement.
On Friday, parliamentary speaker Baleka Mbete defended the use of the police.
"We could not sit here in this institution and forever allow disruptions and outrageous conduct of honourable members who have come here not to work as we all do, but to come here and just push the boundaries in the process to rubbish this institution of the people," the South African Press Association quoted her as saying.
The EFF, which calls for radical policies to ease poverty, has 25 MPs in the 400-member parliament. They often wear red workers' overalls or red maids' uniforms in the chamber.


A photograph of a woman whose dog chased a sheep off a cliff in Sussex has been released by police.

The sheep fell from the cliff at Seven Sisters on Saturday.
Sussex Police said they believe the woman is the dog's owner and she was with two or three men at the time, who all appeared to be in their mid-20s.
The incident is being investigated as an offence under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953. Police have appealed for witnesses.
Bernadette Peters-Shorter, from Sussex Police, said: "We believe the woman is the dog owner and that she was with two or three men at the top of the cliffs.
"We're keen to speak to them as well as a group of other people who were on the clifftops at the time the sheep fell and who may have seen the dog running around loose.
"If you know who the woman or the men are or where they could be, please contact us."


The British and German army football teams have played a match to commemorate 100 years since the World War One Christmas truce.

Soldiers from both sides shared an impromptu ceasefire in Ypres, Belgium, on Christmas Day 1914.
Graham Brookland of the Army FA said the match would "commemorate the occasion in an extremely good spirit".
The game, played at Aldershot Town FC in Hampshire, ended in a 1-0 win for the British Army.
Several thousand events have been held across the UK to mark the Christmas truce football match as part of Football Remembers Week.
Every team in the Premier League and Football League have marked the centenary of World War One at recent matches.
The famous "Christmas truce" of 1914
Source: Imperial War Museum


Figure skating is a lot more than sequins and skates.

One of the original Winter Olympic sports, skating in the UK has enjoyed a renaissance with the rise of reality TV - but the sport requires serious skill and dedication to be successful.
Why is it good for you?
Figure skating is reported to burn almost 900 calories per hour at its most intense, though beginners won't be doing anything quite as strenuous.
Skating around a rink at close to 30mph requires a great deal of strength in both the leg muscles and core, as do the jumps and lifts associated with the sport, which add the aerobic workout of dancing while on the ice.
The National Ice Skating Association's flagship campaign is Skate UK, a 10-stage programme to increase participation and involvement in all forms of skating from beginners to more experienced skaters.
Skate UK aims to nurture the skating stars of the future by promoting all skaters through the Nisa system, encouraging and identifying "talented skaters" who can be fast-tracked.
To find your nearest skating rink, use the rinks and clubs finder.Skate NI offers similar services.
Nisa offers membership to those skating at Nisa-accredited skating rinks. Membership includes £5m civil liability insurance whether competing at home or abroad, as well as basic personal injury cover.
Modern figure skating originated in the 19th Century and claims to be the oldest of all sports contested at the Winter Olympics - though its original incarnation was extremely rigid and didn't allow for the expression and movement of today's figure skating.
The International Skating Union was founded in 1892, a year after the first European Championship had been held in Hamburg.
In 1896 the first World Championship took place, although both the European and World Championships remained for men only until 1908, where pairs skating was introduced for the first time.
Figure skating was featured at the inaugural Winter Olympics of 1924 and has been a fixture within the Games ever since. The United States and Russia are world leaders, with both winning numerous medals throughout the sport's history.
Though success has recently been hard to come by, Great Britain also features prominently in the record books, with a haul of 15 medals including five gold. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean were Olympic champions in 1984 before going on to TV stardom as the faces of Dancing on Ice.
Are you inspired to try Figure Skating? Or maybe you are an enthusiast already? Get in touch and tell us your experience of the activity by tweeting us on @bbcgetinspired or email us on getinspired@bbc.co.uk.
See our full list of activity guides for more inspiration.


Five members of one family have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences in east London.

Scotland Yard arrested a 51-year-old man, a woman aged 53 and three females aged 16, 17 and 19.
All were arrested on suspicion of possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. They are in police custody.
The man was also arrested on suspicion of possessing false identity documents.
Police said the 16-year-old girl had previously been arrested in July on suspicion of preparation of terrorism and had been bailed until September.


A Sudanese migrant found dead on a freight train on the Kent side of the Channel Tunnel had been trying to join family in the UK to start a new life.

An inquest heard the body of Husham Osman Alzubair, 22, was found in the rear wagon as the train arrived in Folkestone early on 23 July.
The engineering graduate had suffered head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A verdict of accidental death was recorded at the inquest in Folkestone.
Coroner Rachel Redman said it was the first death of a would-be migrant to be recorded in Britain.
The inquest heard that Mr Alzubair had left his home village near Khartoum earlier this year, making his way to Calais.
Det Sgt Matthew Jones, of Kent Police, said his body was identified after a picture of a Barclaycard found on his mobile phone led investigators to his brother in Birmingham.
DNA was used to confirm his identity.
He told the hearing that he was probably fatally wounded when a large number of illegal immigrants had tried to board the train by running alongside and jumping on.
Afterwards, Mr Alzubair's cousin, Alnoor Shuaib, 32, said the family still had unanswered questions about how he died.
He said: "Maybe someone pushed him, we don't know.
"We have not got any evidence, and that is a real surprise to me."


A man in his 40s has been attacked by an armed gang at a bar in Doagh, County Antrim.

A group of men armed with hammers and baseball bats entered McConnell's bar on Main Street at about 18:00 GMT on Wednesday and assaulted the man before driving off in waiting cars.
He was taken to hospital and is being treated for serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Six men, aged between 24 and 38, were arrested during follow-up searches.
Police appealed to anyone who witnessed the attack or who saw the group of men in the area to contact them.


A Greggs factory will stop making confectionery, such as doughnuts, with 90 jobs to go, a union has said.

The losses at Treforest, Rhondda Cynon Taff, account for about a third of staff based there.
They come after a call for voluntary redundancies with job cuts across the UK, the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union said.
The company has been asked to comment, with the union's John James saying the factory will focus on sandwich-making.


Speed-seekers in Dubai have been found using the emirate's long, straight highways to hold illegal races, reaching speeds of nearly 200mph (300km/h), police say.

But their pastime could be a thing of the past after police seized 81 vehicles they say were being raced.
The number plates had been taken off to make the cars harder to identify.
Drivers will face 100,000 dirham fines ($27,000; Â£19,000) and owners will need to pay 50,000 dirham, local media say.
Dubai police chief Maj Gen Khamis Al Mazinah said: "Traffic patrols tracked a number of reckless drivers and seized 81 vehicles", though he did not specify when.
He said the owners "were using or preparing to use their cars for illegal races. Other cars were caught in dangerous performances and reckless driving that endangered road users."
He said some of the drivers reached speeds of 196mph while trying to escape police patrols.
If the owners do not pay the fine within three months, police have the right to sell the vehicles, the Khaleej Times newspaper reports.
Luxury cars are hugely popular in the wealthy Gulf emirate. Even the police force drive Lamborghinis, Porsches and Aston Martins.
Transport officials said last year that the number of vehicles in Dubai had doubled in the previous eight years, giving them more cars per person than New York or London, AFP news agency reports.


The owner of land picked as a preferred location for Bath's new park-and-ride says he has no intention of selling it.

The green belt site on the west side of Mill Lane at Bathampton Meadows was chosen by Bath and North East Somerset Council (Banes), on Wednesday night.
It was selected over neighbouring council-owned land, because the 800-car site would be less visible and have potential for a future rail link.
But landowner Steve Horler said there was "absolutely no way" he would sell.
The National Trust has also opposed the plans saying they would "cause significant harm" and "scar the landscape for many years into the future".
The site, according to Banes, was not only chosen because it was close to the city centre but was "well-located for cars coming from the A4, A46 and A363".
But Mr Horler, who runs a holiday let business on his farm, said he "doesn't want to see this beautiful part of Bath destroyed"
"I've got a really successful business in Bathampton Meadows," he said.
"Thousands of people come to enjoy this area every year. They want me to sell it but there's absolutely no way I'm going to."
Tim Warren, leader of the council, insists the city is "at capacity" and the council has to "plan for the future".
"In Bath we're talking about producing 11,000 jobs and these people have to get to work - get in and out - and the city's full up," he said.
The National Trust added it was aware of the impact of traffic and pollution within the city itself but was concerned this development would harm views from nearby Solsbury Hill which it cares for.
"Whether for 800 or 1,200 cars, it is clear that this scale of development would scar the landscape for many years into the future and would mar the wonderful views experienced from Solsbury Hill, which is part of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty," a spokesman said.
The application will go to planning for further consideration.


Hospitals in England are being given their own individual savings targets as part of a drive to save money.

The figures are being sent to 137 hospital trusts by Lord Carter, who has been appointed by the government to improve efficiency in the NHS.
He will spend the next six weeks meeting hospital bosses to discuss the targets, before they are made public.
In June, Lord Carter's report on the NHS identified a number of measures it said could save £5bn a year by 2019-20.
Lord Carter came to that figure after spending a year working with 22 hospitals.
He found a wide variation in spending across medicines, everyday items, such as dressings and syringes, and on facilities such as heating.
His review also said major savings could be made through better staff rotas and management of training and annual leave.
There were also wide differences in the cost of common operations, such as hip replacements, and infection rates.
He has now broken down the savings by speciality. The process has enabled Lord Carter to benchmark what each hospital should be doing in each department.
The biggest savings were identified in general medicine, followed by obstetrics and gynaecology.
The Labour peer also said hospitals should build their own care homes to look after elderly patients after they have been treated to make it easier to discharge patients.
By Hugh Pym, BBC health editor
Lord Patrick Carter, a Labour peer as it happens, is advising Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt on how hospital budgets can be better spent.
In a nutshell, Lord Carter believes that just as there is variation in levels of care around the NHS, as identified by the Care Quality Commission, there are also variations in the use of money by hospitals - some are doing it well and providing good value for the taxpayer, some are not.
He is a firm believer in good leadership leading to high-quality patient care and the most efficient use of resources.
If hospitals all adopted the best practice for different surgical procedures and treatments, he argues, then outcomes for patients would be better and money would be saved.
Read more from Hugh
Prof Tim Briggs, a leading orthopaedic surgeon, has led efforts to standardise his own surgical speciality and will now help hospitals identify the most effective products and techniques across other surgical fields.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that improving quality of care and reducing post-operative complications could bring savings of about a billion pounds a year.
"If you look at the other side too - which is procurement - we've got to get our costs down", he added.
"Everybody says, 'We've got the best deal,' when they clearly haven't."
It comes at a time of mounting pressure on NHS finances. In the first three months of this financial year, a deficit of nearly £1bn has already built up - more than the overspend for the whole of last year.
Lord Carter said: "The route to better care is to empower NHS leaders, so giving them the data and support they need means they can improve how they care for patients and make savings which can be reinvested in front-line care.
"Patients will be the real winners."
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt added: "We are giving the service £10bn extra this Parliament so it is vital to use that money to secure the best outcomes."
But Jennifer Dixon, head of the Health Foundation think tank, said: "The complexity of the task at hand cannot be underestimated. Staff are working flat out and need space and support to achieve change."
Source: The Carter review
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How would you describe your year if you had to choose an emoji?

13 December 2016 Last updated at 08:48 GMT
Laugh-til-you're-crying? Gritted teeth? Maybe heart eyes?
Last night the BBC Music Awards took place in London.
Adele was the big winner of the night taking song of the year for Hello, and album of the year, for 25.
Ricky caught up with some of the biggest names in the music industry to find out which Emoji they'd use to describe their year.


San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers has become the first openly gay coach in the NFL.

Sowers, 31, who is only the second full-time female coach in the NFL, came out to her family while in college.
She hopes speaking out will "create an environment" to help other LGBT people in the NFL to "feel comfortable".
"No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are," said Sowers, who is an offensive assistant with the 49ers.
Sowers told Outsports: "There are so many people who identify as LGBT in the NFL, as in any business, that do not feel comfortable being public about their sexual orientation.
"The more we can create an environment that welcomes all types of people, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, the more we can help ease the pain and burden that many carry every day."


Energy company SSE has said it expects to close three out of four units at its Fiddler's Ferry coal-fired power plant in Cheshire by 1 April.

The 45-year old plant has been loss-making for two years and was forecast to continue losing money until 2020.
Renewable energy and cheap gas prices have made coal-fired power plants increasingly expensive to run.
SSE has entered into consultation with staff. The closures could mean up to 213 job losses.
The power plant provides two gigawatts of power, to the north-west of England, which is enough to supply around two million homes with electricity.
A fourth unit at the plant will remain open as it has a contract to provide power for the National Grid next winter.
Three months ago, the government announced the permanent closure of all coal-fired power plants by 2025 as part of plans to lower carbon emissions from the electricity sector.
""The reality is the station is ageing, its method of generating electricity is being rendered out of date and it has been and is expected to continue to be loss-making in the years ahead," Paul Smith, managing director of the generation business at SSE, said in a statement.
Fiddler's Ferry power plant won a 2018/19 capacity market contract from the government for three of its units in UK's first capacity market auction. The contracts are intended to ensure there is sufficient power capacity on the electricity network to ensure that the lights stay on when renewable energy production is low.
SSE said it would incur a penalty charge of around Â£33m for breaching the contract by closing the units.
Mr Smith said: "The fact it makes more sense for SSE to contemplate making a substantial payment in lieu of the capacity agreement relating to Fiddler's Ferry in 2018/19 demonstrates just how economically challenged Fiddler's Ferry has become - its losses are unsustainable."
Last month, SSE was unsuccessful in gaining a capacity contract for the power plant for the year 2019/20.
The likely closure of the Fiddler's Ferry coal-fired power plant follows an announcement by SSE last May that it was closing down its Ferrybridge power station in Yorkshire border in March 2016.


Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris says it was the International Cricket Council who determined the Cardiff pitch used in the Champions Trophy semi-final.

England captain Eoin Morgan says there was no home advantage after his side were thrashed by Pakistan in Cardiff.
The hosts were dismissed for 211 on a pitch previously used in group-stage games and lost by eight wickets.
"It's a major global event and very much an ICC tournament," said Morris.
The same wicket had been used for Pakistan's group game against Sri Lanka 48 hours before.
Each venue is only permitted to use three different pitches for the tournament, so an old one was used for the semi-final in Cardiff.
The other semi-final between India and Bangladesh at Edgbaston was played on a fresh pitch after the wicket was only used twice during the group games.
"We had a number of meetings with the ICC going back to October last year," said Morris.
"We had to produce three pitches for the four games and the ICC determine exactly which pitches are played on for what games."
Morris believes the Pakistan batsman demonstrated it was a reasonable surface that provided a good battle between bat and ball after reaching their target of 212 with the loss of only two wickets.
"We pride ourselves ourselves on trying to produce the best surfaces we can for all the matches we play in Cardiff," said Morris.
"The way Pakistan adapted to conditions and knocked off the runs with 13-overs left suggests it was a reasonable surface to play on.
"We want to see a good contest between bat and ball so that everyone who watches on the ground and on television enjoys a great game of cricket.
"Out of the four games played in Cardiff we saw some excellent cricket throughout the tournament."
Morris believes England failed to replicate the form which had seen them win all three group games.
"England have played a lot of great cricket over the last 18 months and during this tournament," he said.
"Sometimes when you need to perform it simply doesn't work for you.
"Unfortunately it was one of those days for England and it's a real shame it happened on a big occasion in front of a full house.
"Pakistan will be delighted and have got better after losing to India in their first game."
Cardiff crowds during the Champions Trophy had been described as 'pathetic' by former England captain Michael Vaughan on Twitter.
Morris said the crowd was a sell-out with a full house turning up as he praised the ICC for redistributing tickets that had been initially bought by Indian fans.
"I thought they (ICC) did a really good job," said Morris.
"The match had been sold out two months ago and to exchange 3,000 tickets in 24 hours was a pretty significant logistical job for them.
"We had a full stadium and we were delighted with that."
Glamorgan stage a T20 international between England and South Africa on 25 June before hosting four matches in the 2019 World Cup.
In 2018 there will be an England one-day international against Australia and a T20 match against India staged in Cardiff.
The county are also hoping Cardiff will be chosen as one of the new eight city-based domestic T20 sides by the England and Wales Cricket Board. for the revamped tournament which starts in 2020.


Dominic Ball struck the winner as Peterborough scored twice in the final 20 minutes to beat 10-man Shrewsbury Town.

The on-loan defender, signed in January from Rotherham, headed his first goal for the club to complete a rapid second-half turnaround which brought the visitors' six-match unbeaten run to an end.
In-form Shrewsbury had looked on course to climb further clear of the League One relegation zone when striker Stephen Humphrys marked his first start for the club with his first goal.
The on-loan Fulham frontman converted a 31st-minute penalty after Shaun Whalley's cross was handled by Michael Smith.
But Humphrys' dismissal 10 minutes into the second half, a second caution for failing to retreat at a free-kick, proved to be the turning point.
Posh soon made the most of their numerical advantage, levelling seven minutes later when Ryan Tafazolli headed home from Paul Taylor's corner.
Ball was then picked out by a 78th-minute cross from substitute Taylor as Posh claimed a first home win of 2017 to boost their play-off hopes.
Humphrys' red card, on his first Shrewsbury start, was the ninth received by a Town player this season - the highest number in English football's top four divisions.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Peterborough United 2, Shrewsbury Town 1.
Second Half ends, Peterborough United 2, Shrewsbury Town 1.
Leonardo Da Silva Lopes (Peterborough United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Ryan McGivern (Shrewsbury Town).
Craig Mackail-Smith (Peterborough United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ryan Yates (Shrewsbury Town).
Dominic Ball (Peterborough United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Dominic Ball (Peterborough United).
Tyler Roberts (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Anthony Grant (Peterborough United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Ryan Yates (Shrewsbury Town).
Foul by Junior Morias (Peterborough United).
Junior Brown (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Aristote Nsiala (Shrewsbury Town) header from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left following a set piece situation.
Foul by Chris Forrester (Peterborough United).
Tyler Roberts (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Paul Taylor (Peterborough United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Shrewsbury Town. Ryan McGivern replaces Bryn Morris.
Corner,  Peterborough United. Conceded by Aristote Nsiala.
Anthony Grant (Peterborough United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Junior Brown (Shrewsbury Town).
Substitution, Peterborough United. Leonardo Da Silva Lopes replaces Gwion Edwards.
Gwion Edwards (Peterborough United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Bryn Morris (Shrewsbury Town).
Substitution, Shrewsbury Town. Tyler Roberts replaces Louis Dodds.
Goal!  Peterborough United 2, Shrewsbury Town 1. Dominic Ball (Peterborough United) header from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Paul Taylor following a corner.
Corner,  Peterborough United. Conceded by Aristote Nsiala.
Attempt blocked. Anthony Grant (Peterborough United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Corner,  Peterborough United. Conceded by Junior Brown.
Attempt missed. Anthony Grant (Peterborough United) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right.
Anthony Grant (Peterborough United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Joe Riley (Shrewsbury Town).
Corner,  Peterborough United. Conceded by Junior Brown.
Attempt saved. Chris Forrester (Peterborough United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by Anthony Grant (Peterborough United).
Ryan Yates (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal!  Peterborough United 1, Shrewsbury Town 1. Ryan Tafazolli (Peterborough United) header from the right side of the six yard box to the top right corner. Assisted by Paul Taylor following a corner.
Corner,  Peterborough United. Conceded by Joe Riley.
Foul by Anthony Grant (Peterborough United).
Bryn Morris (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick on the right wing.


A girl battling leukaemia has received a "get well soon" video message from her favourite band Little Mix.

Olivia Watling, a 15-year-old student from Ramsey in the Isle of Man, was admitted to Liverpool's Alder Hey hospital in November.
Her wish was granted by Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall after the campaign #littlemix4livvy was launched by pupils at her school.
Jade said the band wanted to send "all their love" to Olivia.
Referencing the nickname given to Little Mix's fans, Jade said she had heard Olivia was a "massive Mixer".
A spokeswoman for the campaign, said: "Livvy woke up to the message and has been showing it to all her nurses.
"Well done to everyone that made this happen - just to see the smile on Livvy's face is so very special."
Her aunt Andrea Holroyd said: "Liv went to see Little Mix last year, she knows all the songs and all the dances.
"I can't tell you how amazing Liv is - she is in so much pain but she is so incredibly strong and brave. We are just finding things to lift her spirits."


A man accused of stabbing a woman to death after she replaced him as a stable hand "hoped he might get his job back" after her death, a court heard.

Daniel Edwards, 22, is accused of murdering 60-year-old Fiona Southwell at a farm near Seaton in East Yorkshire in July.
Hull Crown Court heard his stepmother told him off for making the comment to her a day after Ms Southwell died.
Mr Edwards of King Street, Hornsea, East Yorkshire, denies murder.
The jury previously heard Ms Southwell was stabbed 19 times at Grange Farm, with her body found by her brother in a barn.
Mr Edwards was working in a new job at a neighbouring farm on the morning of the murder after he had been sacked from Grange Farm.
His stepmother Sharon Edwards told the court Mr Edwards was "better with his hands than his head".
After Mr Edwards made the remark about his job, his stepmother told him not to "talk like that about a woman who's lost her life", the jury heard.
"He was nonchalant, he wasn't at all upset - he was just Daniel," she said.
The trial also heard from witness Susan Dearing, who claimed to have seen Mr Edwards twice on the day of the murder.
The first sighting was him coming from the direction of the farm, and then later in the afternoon outside her home.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard clothing stained with Ms Southwell's blood was recovered from Mr Edwards' bedroom.
Barrister David Gordon, prosecuting, said Mr Edwards' resentment about losing his job "may have provided him with a motive".
The case continues.


Wales are determined to beat Scotland to repay their fans after the 21-16 defeat against England in their Six Nations opener, says Rhys Webb.

The Ospreys scrum-half scored an early try but Wales failed to capitalise on leading 16-8 at half-time.
Webb, 26, says the second-half collapse against England has provided extra motivation to do well at Murrayfield.
"There's been an extra bit of sharpness in training. Everyone's positive. It's big for us to repay our fans," he said.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Webb says despite the defeat to bitter rivals England, he has received a largely positive response from the Welsh public, although he had "a couple of comments" that he "took on the chin".
Scotland were praised for a gallant display in their 15-8 defeat by France last weekend.
It came following an encouraging autumn campaign in which they beat Tonga and Argentina and threatened to cause an upset against New Zealand.
But they have lost their last seven meetings against Wales including a 51-3 defeat in Cardiff in 2014.
Wales have made two changes from their defeat against England, with wing George North making way for Liam Williams and tight-head prop Aaron Jarvis replacing Samson Lee, who is ruled out with concussion.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Webb is expecting a tough test against the Scots, but says Wales have nothing to fear.
"They can take a lot of positives from the game against France," said Webb.
"Obviously with the new coaching set up it's taken them in a slightly different direction and you can see that from the way they are playing and they'll be full of confidence going into the game.
"But our record is good against them and that's a positive for us and the boys love going to Murrayfield and playing so hopefully we can put a good performance in."


Cab hire service Uber has been taken to a London employment tribunal by two of its drivers who claim it is acting unlawfully by not offering holiday and sick pay.

Uber, which allows users to book and pay for a cab through a smartphone app, is used by some two million Londoners.
The test case centres around whether the drivers can be considered workers or, as Uber argues, as self-employed.
The two legal definitions are accorded different employment rights.
Workers are given similar rights to employees in that they are entitled to holiday pay, are protected from unlawful deductions from their pay and may be entitled to sickness pay.
This is the first time that Uber will have faced legal action in the UK over whether their drivers are workers or self-employed.
The two test cases, which will determine a further 17 claims against the firm, are being brought by law firm Leigh Day on behalf of the GMB union.
It argues Uber does not currently ensure its drivers are paid the minimum wage or that they receive paid holiday.
From the tribunal: John Moylan, BBC Employment correspondent
This test cases involves two drivers, James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam.
On the first day of the tribunal case David Reade QC, acting for Uber, sought to demonstrate that Mr Farrar was self-employed as he can choose when he works.
"I don't believe I have a free choice" Mr Farrar said.  "I consider Uber work as my job."
Mr Farrar also insisted that his pay was often lower than the national minimum wage.
In a witness statement he said that Uber claimed it paid him £13.77 on an average hourly basis, based upon the hours he was logged on to its driver's app.
But Mr Farrar insisted that his net earnings in August 2015 after expenses amounted to just £5.03 an hour.
David Reade QC suggested that during that period Mr Farrar had cancelled a high number of jobs sent by Uber.
But Mr Farrar denied this, claiming that the number of jobs he did per hour had been in line with Uber's recommendation.
"I don't see that I lost any money," he said. "I worked as hard as I could".
The union also says Uber does not provide its drivers with the rights normally afforded to employees, claiming instead that they are "partners".
Uber has always maintained that its drivers are self-employed and as such are able to work as little or often as they wish.
Justin Bowden, national secretary of the GMB union, told the BBC:  "The issue here is not about taking away the flexibility… but the high degree of control that Uber exercises over their drivers.
"You either have employment laws that people have to follow or you don't."
Mr Bowden said the GMB union wanted to ensure that Uber drivers had the same employment rights as everyone else.
Uber's rise has been meteoric. In just six years it has ballooned from a tiny start up to a £50bn company spanning 450 cities across 70 countries.
But it's not been an altogether easy ride.
This is the latest in a series of legal challenges about the way it does business. At the heart of the matter in this case, is an argument over whether the UK drivers who earn money from the app work for the company or for themselves.
If these judges rule that they are company workers, tens of thousands of other Uber drivers could potentially claim more cash.  It's not clear if that would then push up fares.
A ruling in favour of the two drivers could lead to dozens more coming forward and affect the firm's reliance on those it considers as self-employed.
"This claim is vital for the thousands of Uber drivers who work in England and Wales and has implications even wider than that," Annie Powell, employment lawyer at firm Leigh Day said.
"We are seeing a creeping erosion of employment rights as companies misclassify their workers as self-employed so as to avoid paying them holiday pay and the national minimum wage," she said.
The case also claims that Uber acts unlawfully by deducting sums from drivers' pay for customer complaints.
Uber said it was rare for pay to be deducted and it would only occur in circumstances where the route taken by the driver was deemed to be excessively long, for example.
In a statement Jo Bertram, regional general manager at Uber UK, said: "More than 30,000 people in London drive with our app and this case only involves a very small number.
"The main reason people choose to partner with Uber is so they can become their own boss, pick their own hours and work completely flexibly.
"Many partner-drivers have left other lines of work and chosen to partner with Uber for this very reason. In fact two thirds of new partner-drivers joining the Uber platform have been referred by another partner."
The tribunal is expected to last until the start of next week but a ruling is not expected for several weeks.
Using the Uber app, passengers can request to be picked up from any location within London, or 450 other cities worldwide.
Passengers pay Uber for the journey, and it then passes on a percentage of that payment to the driver.
The firm, whose investors include Goldman Sachs and Google, has grown rapidly around the world and is valued at $62.5bn (£47bn) but has faced protests, bans and restrictions in a number of cities.
Last month, Uber agreed to pay $7.5m to settle a lawsuit brought by drivers over background checks at the Federal Court in San Francisco, where the app is based.
In the UK it has fended off attacks from London's black cabs to have the app ruled illegal, and transport bosses decided earlier this year not to impose tough new rules on the app.


An after-school group in Dumfries has been told to make swift improvements to the care provided for children.

The Care Inspectorate has issued a formal improvement notice to Lincluden After School Group, which lays out the areas which must be tackled.
They include ensuring a "competent, qualified and skilled person" can take charge in the manager's absence.
The group has also been told that children's "privacy and dignity" must be guaranteed at all times.
In order to do this they have must review their arrangements for changing children.
A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: "We have clearly set out the areas which require swift improvement at Lincluden After School Group so that the care provided to children reaches a standard that they have a right to expect.
"We will inspect this service again soon to check on progress and to ensure that improvements have been made.
"If we are not satisfied that sufficient progress is being made quickly, we will not hesitate to take further action."


The finale of BBC drama The Replacement was a bit like the Marmite of TV - you either loved it or hated it.

An average of 5.8 million viewers watched the conclusion of the psychological thriller, which revealed who killed Kay and the truth about Paula, played by Vicky McClure.
But critics and viewers alike were split over whether the ending was satisfactory.
Although some thought it was a masterpiece, others felt it left more questions than answers.
Metro was in the first camp, calling it a "stellar triumph, keeping us gripped from start to finish", adding it was "a satisfying conclusion - even if the concluding scenes were a little too rushed".
The Daily Mail agreed in its four-star review, although it admitted: "The story wasn't so much odd as stark raving bonkers. Whole pages of the script deserved their own straitjackets."
The Telegraph's Ed Power wasn't happy at all: "The Replacement settled for being just another overheated pot-boiler rather than something deeper and more unnerving."
And iNews complained the conclusion "faltered at the last hurdle", saying: "It's just a shame that the eventual pay-off proved so underwhelmingly conventional."
On Twitter, fans were also split:


The new Premiership rugby union campaign starts on Friday, with Saracens looking to win the title for a third consecutive season.

Last season's beaten finalists Exeter Chiefs will be hoping to go one better while the competition's most successful team, Leicester Tigers, and Northampton Saints retain ambitions of lifting the trophy again.
Kurtley Beale, Schalk Burger, Taulupe Faletau, Willie Le Roux and Louis Picamoles are among the high-profile arrivals on the pitch, while Bristol are back in the top flight following a seven-year absence.
BBC Sport picks out five clubs to watch.
Saracens are now aiming to become the first team to win the domestic title three times in a row since Wasps achieved the feat in 2005.
With the north London club having the ultimate aim of defending the Premiership and European Champions Cup trophies to clinch a historic 'double double', director of rugby Mark McCall says his squad will not lack desire.
"We have a very young group who are enormously competitive, very motivated and very ambitious," the Ulsterman said.
"I don't think hunger is the issue for us. It is about understanding the underlying things which have given us the opportunity to be successful and reinforcing those regularly."
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The Allianz Park club have added experience in the shape of South Africa flanker Burger, but McCall believes the biggest challenge his side will face will be when their international contingent - seven of whom helped England to a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2016 - are unavailable for domestic action.
"We know when we have our full complement we are a match for anybody," he said.
"Our challenge has always been what happens when the international players aren't there. That is getting harder as a lot of teams are getting stronger.
"We happen to be drawn against teams in those international windows this year who don't have any internationals. It makes it tremendously difficult for us."
Exeter came within one win of clinching a maiden Premiership title last season but lost in the play-off final to Saracens at Twickenham.
That defeat came just six years after promotion to the top flight, and the Chiefs have strengthened with the additions of Australia forwards Dave Dennis and Greg Holmes as well as England full-back Ollie Devoto.
"We made a definite effort not to over-focus on the fact we lost one game at the end of last year," director of rugby Rob Baxter said.
"To get to the final, most of what we did must have been pretty good."
Baxter says another top-four finish is the target at Sandy Park as they look to establish themselves as one of the country's top clubs.
"For me to say consistency is just around the corner for us is a fallacy. We have got to strive to get into big games to gain experience," the 45-year-old said.
"Saracens are involved in so many big games each year that they are bound to develop.
"That is the battle for us - establishing ourselves into that group of teams that are there every year so we can pick up experience."
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After a few years of struggle on and off the pitch, Wasps could be on the brink of becoming a domestic and European powerhouse once again.
Now firmly at home in Coventry's Ricoh Arena - the biggest stadium in the Premiership - last season's play-off semi-finalists have recruited impressively, with England duo Danny Cipriani and Kyle Eastmond among their new arrivals.
Australia full-back Beale and South Africa utility back Le Roux also agreed moves, although the former is still recovering from a long-term injury and the latter is set to join in January from Japanese side Canon Eagles.
"We feel this is our last big year of recruitment. The challenge for us will be making sure everybody beds in quickly," director of rugby Dai Young said.
"We want to bring in real quality as we believe that will be the difference between us staying where we are and moving forward."
The Welshman says the club will soon reap the benefits of being immersed in the Warwickshire area.
"We have been in massive transition for the last two or three seasons," he said.
"The pot of gold was there for us, having our own stadium and training facilities. Everything is in place now for us to kick on, but it doesn't mean it will happen overnight."
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Last season must have felt like a bad dream for Bath supporters.
The 2015 Premiership final runners-up had a campaign to forget, with their eventual ninth-placed finish leading to head coach Mike Ford leaving the Rec.
In his place is former New Zealand captain Todd Blackadder, who has had a successful spell coaching Crusaders in his homeland.
"I look at the squad and, with the ambition and vision the club have got, it feels like a good fit," the 44-year-old said. "I know I can deliver."
Blackadder is not perturbed by Bath's drop down the table and has watched two years' worth of games in preparation for the job ahead.
"The past for Bath can only make you stronger," he added. "The club want to build a really strong culture and I wanted to be part of it."
One of the players the ex-All Black has to get the best from is fly-half George Ford, son of the departed coach. Blackadder has already sat down with the England international to discuss their relationship.
"Obviously George has been through a lot and my job is to give him a safe environment so he can play some of the best footy of his life," he said.
"The most important thing is he instigated the conversation, which is great. It tells me that he cares. He is almost a complete player and has a fantastic future ahead of him."
After seven years in the second tier, and three Championship play-off final defeats, Bristol have finally made it back to the Premiership.
Director of rugby Andy Robinson, who has had spells in charge of England and Scotland, is keen to achieve more than just making up the numbers.
"It is about the club being able to move forward," the 52-year-old said. "To see how well Worcester did last year gives us real confidence.
"We are challenging the squad to look upwards. But rugby at the highest level is a ruthless and tough business."
Robinson, who recently signed a new three-year contract, is well aware of the rigours which await his squad in the top flight.
"Physically, you have to deal with what is thrown at you. There is no hiding place but that is the beauty of sport at this level," he said.
"We have to be able to perform for 80 minutes. If we can limit our errors we can be a successful side."
Additional interviews by BBC Radio London's Andy Rowley and BBC Points West's Damian Derrick.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.


Police in Brazil have charged Justin Bieber with illegally spraying graffiti in Rio de Janeiro.

The Canadian singer could be fined after pictures appeared in local media to show him painting a wall.
Defacing buildings is a crime in Brazil punishable by up to one year in jail or a fine.
However officials described the case involving Justin Bieber as "a minor offence". There was no immediate comment from his management team.
In a statement, Brazil's civil police force said Justin Bieber had been charged with "defacing a building or urban monument by graffiti or other means".
Brazilian media reported and published photos appearing to show the 19-year-old singer spraying graffiti on the wall of the abandoned Hotel Nacional.
The pictures showed him wearing a red cap and army pants - with a security guard on one side, a police car parked on the other.
It emerged that Bieber had authorisation from the City Hall to paint at a sports facility nearby, but members of his entourage claim he chose a different location to avoid his fans.
Police argued the consent did not extend to any other places.
This closes a trip in which the teenage idol has been accused of swearing at photographers, was seen leaving a seedy night club and was kicked out of Rio's most prestigious hotel, the BBC's Julia Caneiro in Rio says.
According to the Globo TV network, Bieber flew out of Brazil on Wednesday afternoon on a private jet and went to Paraguay, where he was scheduled to perform.
It is not the first time Justin Bieber has been involved in controversy this year.  In March, he said sorry to fans for a late start at a concert in London.
In April, he caused outrage with his message in a guestbook at the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, saying he hoped the Holocaust victim would have been a fan - "a belieber".
Frank's diary, written during the two years the teenager and her family hid from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam, made her a symbol of the suffering of Jews during World War II.
And in July, Bieber was criticised for touching the biggest trophy in North American ice hockey, the Stanley Cup.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter


Yorkshire bowler Ben Coad has signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at Headingley until the end of the 2018 season.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed a terrific start to the campaign, taking 18 wickets in the opening two County Championship matches.
"I put in a lot of hard work over the winter and it's coming good for me," he told BBC Look North.
"I never thought I'd have this kind of start to the season."
Coad added: "I'm not setting any targets but hopefully I can keep this momentum going for as long as possible and I'll see where it takes me.
"The last two weeks have been surreal."


Paris St-Germain have announced the signing of Chelsea defender David Luiz for an undisclosed fee.

The 27-year-old Brazilian will join the French champions on a five-year contract after the World Cup.
Despite recently failing Uefa's financial fair play (FFP) rules, PSG are reported to be paying £40m for Luiz - a transfer record for a defender.
"Right from the very first contact I had with Paris St-Germain, I was very happy," Luiz told the club's website.
"It's a big club with a great history. It's a new step in my life and I'm impatient to play for Paris and show what I can do."
Luiz joined the Blues from Benfica for £21.3m in January 2011 and made 143 appearances for the club.
He had three years left on the five-year contract he signed in September 2012.
Chelsea have already signed midfielder Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona and are close to completing the signing of Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa.
The Blues also spent £12m on St Etienne centre-back Kurt Zouma in January.
In Paris, Luiz will join up with his international team-mate Thiago Silva, who also set a transfer record for a defender when he joined PSG for £36m from AC Milan.


A street claiming to be home to the shortest set of double yellow lines in England has been "beaten" by an even shorter set in a nearby road.

Last year 33cm (13in) lines appeared by disabled bays in Humberstone Road, Chesterton, Cambridge.
Now a set separating residents' bays and pay and display parking have appeared in neighbouring Hamilton Road measuring just 28cm (11in).
The council said it was "a genuine attempt to be helpful to motorists".
"Although we have seen people try and squeeze cars into unusual places such as pedestrian crossings, we don't expect anyone to try and park on these lines," a county council spokesman said.
"This is a genuine attempt to be helpful to motorists by signalling with other signs the divide between pay and display parking and residents' parking on this street."
The lines were intended to "help drivers park in the right bays and avoid a fine for parking in the wrong one", he added.
One resident described the lines as "ridiculous" but admitted she was concerned she might get a ticket if she parked on them.
Another described the lines as "cute" and said they were "probably helpful... but should be bigger as you can hardly see them".


Less than four years ago, jihadist violence was widely believed to be in a state of terminal decline.

Osama Bin Laden and his most senior lieutenants had been killed, and the peaceful uprisings of the Arab Spring seemed to be ushering in a new era of freedom and democracy in which al-Qaeda and its jihadist terrorism looked outdated - if not anachronistic.
Journalists, academics, and even senior policymakers were ready to move on. Talk about the "strategic defeat", "decline", and "fall" of al-Qaeda was common.
By the end of 2014, it is no longer al-Qaeda or jihadism that look outdated but the predictions of their imminent demise.
Far from nearing defeat, jihadist groups everywhere have regrouped and taken advantage of new conflicts and instability - often in the very countries that saw popular uprisings during 2011.
The most spectacular newcomer is Islamic State, a group that has declared the creation of a caliphate, holds territory from the Syrian city of Aleppo to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and has rivalled - if not replaced - al-Qaeda as the leader of global jihadism.
Over the past three months, I helped the BBC produce a global snapshot of this phenomenon. Our aim was to record all the reported deaths that were caused by jihadist violence during the month of November.
This task was made possible by combining the vast intellectual, journalistic and professional resources of the BBC World Service, BBC Monitoring, and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College London.
The findings are both important and disturbing.
In the course of November, jihadists carried out 664 attacks, killing 5,042 people - many more than, for instance, the number of people who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks.
While comparisons to earlier periods are difficult, the overall picture is that of an increasingly ambitious, complex, sophisticated and far-reaching movement:
The project tells the story of a movement in the middle of a profound transformation - one whose final outcome is impossible to predict.
Our immediate focus, however, was the terrible human cost: with, on average, more than 20 attacks and nearly 170 deaths per day, jihadist groups destroy countless lives - most of them Muslim - in the name of an ideology that the vast majority of Muslims reject.
If anything, this highlights the movement's scale and ambition, but also the long-term political, social, ideological, and military commitment that will be needed to counter it.
Peter R Neumann is Professor of Security Studies at King's College London and directs the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR). He served as the BBC's principal academic adviser for the Jihad: Counting the Cost project.


An 81-year-old man who is charged with murdering his wife has gone missing.

Police said John Parry was last seen near Roper Street in Penrith at about midnight on Monday. He is due to appear at Carlisle Crown Court on Friday.
He was charged after the body of Meryl Parry, 80, was found on 2 September at a house in Ainstable, near Carlisle.
Cumbria Police believe he might be in the Little Salkeld area. He was initially remanded in custody but granted bail in October due to his age.
He is described as white, slim, clean shaven with a pale complexion. He has thinning and receding white hair and blue eyes.


Newport County's plight at the bottom of League Two worsened as they were beaten by leaders Plymouth.

The Exiles were reduced to 10 men on 36 minutes when goalkeeper Joe Day was dismissed for bringing down Plymouth forward Jordan Slew.
Argyle's Graham Carey converted the penalty and added another from the spot when he was fouled by Darren Jones.
A fabulous 25-yard volley from County's Jon Parkin had levelled matters earlier on, but Slew's late strike sealed it.
Match ends, Newport County 1, Plymouth Argyle 3.
Second Half ends, Newport County 1, Plymouth Argyle 3.
Corner,  Plymouth Argyle. Conceded by Darren Jones.
Rhys Healey (Newport County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Rhys Healey (Newport County).
Yann Songo'o (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Plymouth Argyle. Conceded by Scot Bennett.
Attempt blocked. Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Reece Grego-Cox (Newport County) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Ben Tozer (Newport County) header from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Corner,  Newport County. Conceded by Yann Songo'o.
Attempt blocked. Sean Rigg (Newport County) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Plymouth Argyle. Ryan Donaldson replaces James Spencer.
James Spencer (Plymouth Argyle) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Jazzi Barnum-Bobb (Newport County) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by James Spencer (Plymouth Argyle).
Sean Rigg (Newport County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Yann Songo'o (Plymouth Argyle).
Attempt missed. Sean Rigg (Newport County) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is too high.
Goal!  Newport County 1, Plymouth Argyle 3. Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Graham Carey.
Substitution, Newport County. Jack Compton replaces Jordan Green.
Corner,  Newport County. Conceded by Yann Songo'o.
Attempt saved. Graham Carey (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Plymouth Argyle. Connor Smith replaces David Fox.
Rhys Healey (Newport County) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Gary Miller (Plymouth Argyle).
Rhys Healey (Newport County) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Jake Jervis (Plymouth Argyle).
Jordan Green (Newport County) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle).
Substitution, Plymouth Argyle. Jake Jervis replaces Craig Tanner.
Substitution, Newport County. Rhys Healey replaces Jon Parkin.
(Newport County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Dangerous play by David Fox (Plymouth Argyle).
Corner,  Plymouth Argyle. Conceded by Darren Jones.
Attempt blocked. James Spencer (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. David Fox (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right.
Goal!  Newport County 1, Plymouth Argyle 2. Graham Carey (Plymouth Argyle) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Penalty conceded by Darren Jones (Newport County) after a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty Plymouth Argyle. Graham Carey draws a foul in the penalty area.


Chinese media and internet users have raised questions after the heaviest rainfall to hit Beijing in 60 years left 37 people dead.

Newspapers and netizens asked why drains in the capital could not cope and why more warnings were not given.
The storm struck Beijing on Saturday night, with torrential rain continuing for several hours.
Roads were flooded and thousands stranded at transport hubs by the bad weather.
On Monday many parts of the capital had returned to normal, with clear skies and the airport operating as usual, after hundreds of flights were cancelled at the weekend.
Hilly areas on the edge of the city were hardest hit.
Several Chinese newspapers criticised the capital's drainage system for failing to cope with the onslaught, in contrast to the centuries-old ditches around the Forbidden City that kept the national monument relatively dry.
Several million comments were left on weibo platforms - China's equivalent of Twitter - with photos of submerged cars and property being shared online.
Resident describes Beijing deluge
A Tencent Weibo user from Shandong asked how, as an Olympic city, Beijing's drainage system could be so vulnerable. On Sina Weibo, a user from Shaanxi urged people to learn how to swim, calling the government "unreliable".
"Wishing you happy-ever-after in the afterlife, let's hope at least it has better drainage," sad a Sina Weibo user from Jiangsu.
Other users blamed "sub-standard" weather forecasting and warning services.
"If we could have received a reminder from the government saying 'there will be a rain storm, please do not go out', could we have avoided some of the tragedies?" a Sina Weibo user in Jilin asked.
Even state-run
          newspaper Global Times
 was critical of how officials dealt with the crisis.
"Chinese cities are apparently unpractised in facing disasters such as Saturday's torrential downpour," it said.
"If so much chaos can be triggered in Beijing, the capital of the nation, problems in urban infrastructure of many other places can only be worse."
State news agency Xinhua said 460mm (18.1 in) of rain fell in Beijing's Fangshan district, with the capital as a whole averaging 170mm.
Flood and economic losses had been estimated at 10bn yuan ($1.5bn, Â£960m), Pan Anjun, deputy chief of Beijing flood control headquarters, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
About 60,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes.
Beijing officials said 37 people had died, 25 of them from drowning and the others from roof collapses, lightning strikes and electrocution. Seven more people remain missing.


A 24-year-old British woman has drowned in a hotel bath in Majorca, Spanish police have said.

The Guardia Civil in Palmanova told the BBC the holidaymaker's body was found late on Monday night in Magaluf.
A police spokeswoman said hotel staff were alerted when they saw water coming out of the room and that they had tried to resuscitate her.
Post-mortem tests found alcohol in her body and death was determined to be accidental through drowning, she added.
The Foreign Office said it was "providing support to the family of a British national following their death in Mallorca on 2 May 2016".
"We are in close contact with local authorities," a spokesman added.


England's women are out of the World Cup after losing a dramatic quarter-final on penalties to France.

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Karen Bardsley's save from Camille Abily put England on top in the shoot-out but Claire Rafferty and Faye White both missed to send the French through.
France had dominated for long periods of normal time but Jill Scott fired England ahead against the run of play.
Hope Powell's side were three minutes away from a place in the last four when Elise Bussaglia forced extra-time.
Instead England slipped to an agonising defeat and it is France who will progress to face either the United States or Brazil in their semi-final on Wednesday.
The manner of the defeat was all too familiar for the English, and was hard on them after they had showed superb resilience to push Bruno Bini's team all the way
Alistair Magowan on England's exit
A disappointed Powell told the BBC: "It was a gallant effort and there were some really tired legs out there today. Our games have been tough and we were dead on our feet at the end.
"I am very proud of my players. They did their very best to take it to the wire. Unfortunately when it came down to penalties, you just had to applaud France."
Both sides looked tired in extra-time, and Kelly Smith was virtually a passenger because of injury, but both wasted chances to win it, with Ellen White firing wide when through on goal and Eugenie Le Sommer off target with a back-post header.
That meant penalties, and again England were initially on top when Bardsley sprang to her right to deny Abily from France's first effort.
Smith, Karen Carney and Casey Stoney all scored to leave England 3-2 up, but Claire Rafferty dragged her effort wide and France were able to begin their celebrations when Faye White slammed her spot-kick against the bar.
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France had created most of the chances during the 90 minutes, although England had started the brighter, with Smith rounding France keeper Celine Deville after just 15 seconds, only to see her shot blocked by Laura Georges.
Bruno Bini's side soon settled, though, and began passing the ball fluidly, with Abily particularly influential down the right wing.
The French also started to pepper Bardsley's goal with shots from distance, with their best effort a Gaetane Thiney snap-shot from the edge of the area that forced a diving save from the England keeper.
England, with Ellen White looking isolated up front, were struggling to make an impact with their more direct approach and they had more defending to do before half-time.
Louisa Necib went close after a corner was half-cleared, while Sandrine Soubeyrand fired wide and Abily saw another effort clear the bar.
England improved after the break but were still on the back-foot and France went close with further efforts from Marie-Laure Delie and Thiney.
Powell responded by pushing Scott further forward and she soon went close to finding the net with a flicked header from Rachel Unitt's whipped cross.
A mix-up in the France defence allowed Scott another sight of goal after 58 minutes and this time she made no mistake, advancing to the edge of the area before expertly lifting the ball over Deville.
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France came back strongly and forced some intense late pressure that saw substitute Elodi Thomis force a superb late save from Bardsley and Ellen White clear Laura Lepailleur's header off the line.
But England's resistance was ended three minutes from time when the ball broke for Bussaglia on the edge of the area for her to curl the ball into the top corner and their subsequent shoot-out misery meant their hopes of a first appearance in the World Cup semi-finals were dashed.
Afterwards, Powell hailed what she called a "gallant effort" by her side and defended her decision to bring back Faye White and Fara Williams after they were rested in the 2-0 win over Japan on Tuesday.
She also explained that her decision to bring World Cup debutants Steph Houghton and Claire Rafferty off the bench for experienced duo Alex Scott and Rachel Unitt towards the end of the 90 minutes was for injury and tactical reasons.
"Alex said she had a injury and Rafferty was for pace," Powell said. "Rachel Unitt would have struggled against Thomis, and we knew that was going to happen, they always bring her on.
"Claire was very brave to step up and want to take a penalty, I have nothing but admiration for her."
France Ladies: Deville, Viguier, Georges, Lepailleur, Soubeyrand (Thomis 67), Bompastor, Abily, Necib (Bretigny 79), Bussaglia, Thiney, Delie, Bretigny (Le Sommer 106). Subs Not Used: Philippe,Renard,Boulleau,Meilleroux,Franco, Pizzala.
Goals: Bussaglia 87.
England Ladies: Bardsley,Alex Scott (Houghton 81),Stoney, Faye White, Unitt (Rafferty 81), Carney, Jill Scott, Williams, Yankey (Asante 84), Smith, Ellen White. Subs Not Used: Brown, Chamberlain, Clarke, Aluko, Bradley, Bassett, Susi.
Booked: Williams,Ellen White,Bardsley,Jill Scott.
Goals: Jill Scott 58.
Att: 25,000
Ref: Jenny Palmqvist (Sweden).
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