Sorry
@mo_town, I thought I had responded on this topic. As @WalkingWicket37 mentioned, I play live and play cricket down here in Bournemouth, so I hopefully should be in a good position to offer some advice.
My first recommendation would be to find a club that play within the Hampshire League. In my opinion, the Dorset League is dying, and the majority of the big clubs have moved over to the Hampshire League. I myself play for a club called Ferndown Wayfarers, who are around 15 minutes drive outside of Bournemouth. We have 4 Saturday teams, 2 pitches and pavilion (all owned by the club), a midweek side as well as recently installed nets. Our first team are in County Division 2, which is a decent enough standard, with us missing out on promotion on the very last day of the season.
Other clubs within the Bournemouth area who are worth considering in my personal opinion are:
Bournemouth CC: The club I play at have a very good relationship with the guys up there. Their first team is in the Southern Premier League and in my opinion, are a decent bunch of guys.
Bashley CC: A stunning first team ground, arguable the best cricket club in our local area.
Mudeford CC: Located just outside of Bournemouth, they are a brilliant bunch of guys. 2 Saturday teams, lovely picturesque ground and they all play with a smile!
We are really blessed in Bournemouth to have an abundance of very good cricket clubs. I would not have any hesitation in recommending 99% of the teams in the area as a future club.
In regards to midweek cricket, again, we are blessed to have a good amount of cricket available:
1) LastManStanding has a strong league following down here, with games on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursdays. The 5 ball, 20 over games are often done within 2 hours.
2) Wimborne Evening League: Teams such as Bournemouth & Ferndown Wayfarers, along with many others, field strong teams in this league. A decent run out throughout the week.
3) Bournemouth Evening Cricket League: Sad to say, a dying league, however, its well run and its brilliant fun if you can find a team who still play in it.
Throughout the winter, we have a brilliant indoor league, ran at the Dorset Cricket Centre. As far as I am aware, the league is growing and it has a decent setup. 12 over matches, done within an hour and certainly within the higher leagues, it really good test of ability.
The centre also offers excellent practice facility. A 5 net hall has a decent floor so does not give tennis ball bounce. It has a dedicated net at the back with a bowling machine for hire, around £18 per hour.
I hope that has provided some information on the cricket down here in Bournemouth. Any questions, feel free to drop me a PM and I will answer to the best of my ability.