CANON Frome were beaten by the rain last weekend as they got a losing draw against bottom-of-the-league Netherton.

The hosts had posted 194-6 in their 40 overs but couldn’t bowl the basement club out as they reached 170-8 to claim the winning draw in the rain-shortened match.

Andy Lloyd, Canon Frome captain, said: “Given the conditions, we should have bowled first and got the runs.

“A couple guys for them came out swinging the bat from the off and it just paid off.”

He also said he was relieved that Birlingham were not able to close the gap after having their game abandoned.

He said: “About five weeks ago Birlmingham and Stone were the only teams to play and that put Birlingham ahead of us, but thankfully we’ve since turned it around.”

Canon Frome face Rushwick this weekend which starts a four-game run of home matches to the end of the season.

Lloyd said: “A lot of grounds we’ve played at are shared grounds whereas ours is a single-purpose ground.

"Now that the football season is about to start we’re getting more home games.”