SKIPPER Chris Park is hoping his young Bournemouth side stays together after missing out on promotion to the top flight of the Southern Premier League.
Despite a resounding 10-wicket win over Sarisbury Athletic, Lions failed to overhaul second-placed Basingstoke & North Hants on the final day.
But with Bournemouth finishing third, Park was left to ponder a campaign that might have been.
He said: “It’s just a shame we came close and did not manage to get over the line.
"But if you don’t play proper cricket in all the games, you don’t deserve to go up.
“The early-season inconsistency came back to haunt us, even though we finished the season strongly.
“Basingstoke beat us twice so, in hindsight, they probably deserve to go up (should Calmore Sports not get the necessary accreditation).
“It’s just a case of keeping all our young guys together. Fingers crossed they will all stay together and want to play next year.
“We need to keep moving forward through the winter to hopefully get this promotion we are after. The young lads still have loads of room for improvement.
"With the experience they will gain, hopefully, we will gain the consistency we need as a side.”
With a chance of grasping second still in the balance at the start of the day, Bournemouth set to work from the outset in their league finale.
They skittled visiting Sarisbury Athletic for 54 (left-arm spinner Dom Clutterbuck 4-18) and romped to a ten-wicket win.
* Nick Park, with 525 runs, was Bournemouth's leading batsman in SPL1, with left-arm spinner Dom Clutterbuck taking 29 wickets and Jake Hurley 25. Chris Park bagged 23 victims behind the stumps.
Despite a resounding 10-wicket win over Sarisbury Athletic, Lions failed to overhaul second-placed Basingstoke & North Hants on the final day.
But with Bournemouth finishing third, Park was left to ponder a campaign that might have been.
He said: “It’s just a shame we came close and did not manage to get over the line.
"But if you don’t play proper cricket in all the games, you don’t deserve to go up.
“The early-season inconsistency came back to haunt us, even though we finished the season strongly.
“Basingstoke beat us twice so, in hindsight, they probably deserve to go up (should Calmore Sports not get the necessary accreditation).
“It’s just a case of keeping all our young guys together. Fingers crossed they will all stay together and want to play next year.
“We need to keep moving forward through the winter to hopefully get this promotion we are after. The young lads still have loads of room for improvement.
"With the experience they will gain, hopefully, we will gain the consistency we need as a side.”
With a chance of grasping second still in the balance at the start of the day, Bournemouth set to work from the outset in their league finale.
They skittled visiting Sarisbury Athletic for 54 (left-arm spinner Dom Clutterbuck 4-18) and romped to a ten-wicket win.
* Nick Park, with 525 runs, was Bournemouth's leading batsman in SPL1, with left-arm spinner Dom Clutterbuck taking 29 wickets and Jake Hurley 25. Chris Park bagged 23 victims behind the stumps.
