MALVERN Town are hoping to beat the weather and play their first West Midlands League Premier Division match of 2014 against Bustleholme tomorrow (3pm).

The Langland Stadium side have seen all three of their league matches in January postponed due to waterlogged pitches.

To make matters worse, both attempts to play the Worcester Infirmary Cup round-robin match against Ledbury Town have fallen victim to the elements, as well as the Worcestershire FA Senior Urn clash against Bromsgrove Sporting. Five of those matches were due to be played at home.

The only game Malvern have played since beating league leaders Lye Town 2-0 on December 28 was a 3-2 defeat to Bewdley Town in the Infirmary Cup the Wednesday before last.

Manager Les Jones said: "I have never known it like this. It's been a situation where the pitch has nearly recovered but the rain has come back again.

"We have got a really good draining pitch but there's so much water that it only needs a few hours of heavy rain and the ground can't absorb it in time.

"Football has basically ground to a halt."

Malvern boast the advantage of having played more games than most of their rivals but they are still desperate to play a match.

Bustleholme, who are 20th in the table, have played two Premier Division matches in January, beating Bartley Green 3-1 and losing 5-0 at home to Dudley Town.

Jones, who expects to have a fully fit squad to choose from, added: "We are hoping to win but we have only played 90 minutes since December 28 and some of the players haven't played since before that.

"We are confident that, if the pitch is fit, we can put on a good show."