BROMSGROVE'S Dean Ball has hit out at Longton after his side's re-arranged match at Stoke was cancelled on Saturday.

Once again the Boars were frustrated by poor weather as the second attempt to play this Midland One fixture was called off.

Ball, though, believes the Stoke club are not doing everything in their power to get the game played.

He said: "The rule book actually says that a club should look for an alternative ground before calling a match off.

"Longton have been unlucky with the weather but I'm not sure they're doing enough and it's affecting our season.

"Of course, if the weather is bad then there's not that much which can be done but what's going on there is a bit excessive.

"We're not the only team that has been affected by Longton calling matches off."

The Longton game's second cancellation, though, means Bromsgrove's North Midlands Cup clash at Droitwich will be moved again.

The fixture, which had originally been set for February 12, has already been pushed back to March 5.

However, the trip to Longton will now be moved to that date and the derby clash with Droitwich will once again be switched to a later day.

"It's another blow for the cup," added Ball.

"Everybody wants to play this game and we're being denied a huge derby because of cancelled fixtures.

"It's unavoidable on our part, but we are looking forward to this game.

"It also starts confusing other teams. Some will be playing a semi-final while we're against Droitwich in an earlier round."

Ball has urged his team to focus on the difficult task of stopping runaway leaders Leicester Lions in their tracks at Finstall Park on Saturday (2.15pm).

The Boars are still smarting from a 54-22 mauling by the Lions at the start of the season.

Ball, though, remained confident that his side could cause an upset.

He said: "On our day we can beat anyone in the league -- even Leicester. In recent games they have had the happy knack of winning matches even when they are not playing well.

"We have a good home record and we tend to raise our game against the best sides, so we should be confident we can get something.

"The squad's nearly at full strength so Leicester should be worried about us."

Meanwhile, in-form Malvern will be hoping to keep up the pressure on the top two sides in Midlands Two (West).

The Spring Lane side have won their last four league games and are now just two points off leaders Hinckley and one behind second placed Burton.

They take on the worst side in the league on Saturday -- Nuneaton Old Edwardians -- who have lost all 16 of their games this season.

Fixtures

Midlands One: Bromsgrove v Leicester Lions, Kettering v Luctonians.

Midlands Two (West): Nuneaton Old Edwardians v Malvern.

Midlands Three West (North): Shrewsbury v Kidderminster C.

Midlands Three West (South): Barkers Butts v Hereford, Old Leamingtonians v Droitwich, Pershore v Stratford.

Midlands Four West (South): Evesham v Manor Park, Worcester Wanderers v Old Halesonians.

North Midlands One (South): Upton v Woodrush.

North Midlands Two (South): Chaddesley Corbett v Dudley Wasps, Greyhound v Bromyard.