SKIPPER Chris Park said he was happy to play the supporting role to help in-form Bournemouth continue their push for the Southern League Division One title.

The wicket-keeper batsman top scored with an unbeaten 82 as Lions hammered struggling Hartley Wintney by 188 runs at Chapel Gate.

With five fours and one six, 35-year-old Park steadied the ship after a couple of early wickets had fallen to ensure his side recorded their 11th win from 13 games.

His vital knock came from 122 deliveries and outscored the entire Hartley reply of just 55.

Park told the Daily Echo: “There were no fireworks from me unfortunately! It was just a case of me being there at the end and letting the four guys who did bat with me play their shots and be the dominant force.

“That’s my role in the side, to anchor the innings and try to give as much strike to the others when possible.

“It comes with experience. I am the first to hold my hands up and say I’m not a power hitter like those boys are.

“I can only dream of hitting the ball as hard as Luke Webb or as cleanly as Ed Denham. Then you have the touch of Simon Woodruff, who, being a left hander, hits the ball in different areas with the ability to hit big sixes.

“It was nice to see Ed and Simon come to the party as they hadn’t batted for a few weeks.”

After winning the toss and batting first, Bournemouth found themselves in a small amount of trouble when openers Nick Park (23) and Martin Miller (7) fell in quick succession.

But captain Park put on solid partnerships alongside Luke Webb (26) and Ed Denham (26) before some late hitting from Woodruff (50) accelerated the scoring rate.

Bournemouth posted 243 for five from their 50 overs, a total the visitors never looked like troubling from the outset.

A dominant opening spell from Dan Conway (2-9) and Jake Hurley (4-22) left the visitors floundering on 29 for six.

Dom Clutterbuck (2-9) and Rob Pack (2-13) cleaned up the tail as Hartley were dismissed in fewer than 19 overs.

Only Angus Brown (12), James Beckwith (14) and Dan Wrenn (10) reached double figures for the visitors.

“It was a good first innings but we had to do the job with the ball, which set us up nicely for a 22-point win,” added Park

“It was not a typical Bournemouth pitch, it spun from ball one and was a little uneven. But it was still a good pitch and a fast outfield.

“It was a good all-round performance and the results going our way again put us in a really good position.”

Bournemouth have now accumulated 247 points from 13 league games and are averaging more than three-and-a-half points more than nearest challengers Sarisbury Athletic.