DORSET skipper Chris Park refused to be downbeat after three "hot, sweaty" days culminated with the county side going down to a 218-run defeat at Wiltshire.

The hosts piled up 442 runs before declaring their first innings. Dorset were then dismissed for 232, before being shot out for 188 after Wiltshire had thrashed a quick 196 on the second evening.

Park was nevertheless encouraged by the resilience of his younger players, in particular opener Sam Collins and debutant spinner Dom Clutterbuck.

He told the Daily Echo: "The young lads in the side did themselves proud and having that kind of experience early in their minor counties' careers will stand them in good stead for the future.

"It was three hot, sweaty days. But I was pleased to see Sam Collins fight so hard for a really good 36 in the second innings. He worked his butt off in the first innings as well and his two dismissals could not have been more unlucky.

"Sam and Luke Webb had a fantastic partnership on the last day and we were just getting a sniff of a draw. But their captain, Ed Young, brought himself on to bowl before lunch, sent down probably the worst two balls of the game and got wickets with both of them.

"Luke hit a short long-hop straight down deep-midwicket's throat, then two balls later Sam had the same delivery – it was nearly a double bouncer, it was that bad – but he managed to chop on."

"Dom bowled well and batted nicely on the final afternoon. He can be proud of his debut."

Six of Park's side passed 20 in their first knock but the captain's 34 was the highest score in a total that left them staring at a mighty 210-run first-innings deficit.

Their cause hadn't been helped when Wiltshire opener Steve Bullen was reprieved after he gloved behind with his score on 15 early on the first day.

He went on to amass 201 before finally being removed by Jigar Naik, whose second-innings return of seven for 46 contributed to 10-wicket match haul.

"Jigar stood up to the plate in the first innings and was a pleasure to keep to in the second innings," said Park. "He bowled beautifully and was the one bowler they could not score off.

"It was one of those games where a few things went against us. We had four or five first-innings partnerships where we could have kicked on and ground them into the dirt a bit more.

"But with the side we had out, it was a positive we managed to bat for 80 overs and I could not fault the lads’ application."