DORSET opening batsman Nick Park and his younger brother James have quit bottom-of-the-table Bournemouth to join progressive Southern Electric Premier League Division 1 neighbours New Milton.
The Park brothers have occupied two of the top three batting positions for Bournemouth in recent seasons, with 27-year old Nick clocking up over 3,500 Premier Divisions runs while sibling brother James hit a career-best 161 for Bournemouth at Andover in 2011.
Nick Park, currently side-lined with a soccer related knee injury, has played Minor Counties cricket for Dorset for the past seven seasons, scoring over 3,000 runs, including four centuries.
New Milton skipper Ryan Beck described the arrival of the Park brother at Fernhill as “brilliant news.”
“It must have been a hard decision (for them) to leave Bournemouth and drop down a division, but it will be a new challenge for them at New Milton and one they’ll enjoy.
“I am very excited about having them in our ranks next season. As a club, we have some extremely good young talent coming through and, being potentially stronger all round, gives us a realistic chance of being promoted.”
James Park will be Beck’s vice captain at New Milton in 2013. New Milton finished fourth in SPL2 this summer and now boast a gold accredited ground.
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