Lympsham & Belvedere were left frustrated as rain ruined their first match of the Somerset League season at Cheddar.

Having lost the toss, they were asked to bat first and Jamie Howson and Nathan Hancock began positively, putting the bad ball away as the Cheddar bowlers struggled to find their lines.

Hancock (11) was dismissed first, caught at slip off Liam Jones, but Jack Luff joined Howson and they continued to score nicely as the home team started to bowl better in helpful conditions.

Howson (24) and Luff (12) also fell to Jones (3-30) when looking to up the tempo but Mike Hosey joined Dave Luff and they looked to build a partnership against the accurate bowling of Jimmy Clark, whose nine-over spell cost a miserly seven runs.

Having got to 106 for 3 in the 28th over, Luff (20) was run out looking to take a quick single, but Tom Gooding and Hosey continued to grind out the runs before the latter was bowled by the returning Clark for 23.

Gooding (6) was caught at the wicket off Clark, leaving Neil Chadwick to join Samuel McCrea and look to bat out the remaining overs.

Both batters fell looking to be positive as Clark (3-65) and Kieran McManus (1-3) took wickets, but with the game evenly poised the rain came in with L&B on 170-8 with five overs remaining.

The weather did not relent, leaving the pitch too wet to continue, as both teams picked up 20 points and move onto next week looking to secure their first wins.

The Lympsham Concrete man of the match award went to Howson for a promising innings and he said: "It was good to be back playing league cricket at Lympsham & Belvedere, but a little bit disappointing we didn't get a full game in.

"I think we will be competitive this year and if our batting line-up gets runs our bowlers will be able to apply pressure and secure some much-needed wins to get the momentum going."

Craig Scriven added: "It is very exciting times for both the club and me personally. I am looking forward to coaching the juniors and excited about playing in teams that are striving to challenge for titles."