Chris Tremlett (five for 68) and Shaun Udal (four for 25) made it a poor first day for Lancashire at The Rose Bowl. The visitors were dismissed for just 183, with an innings of 66 from Alec Swann the only substantial contribution from the visitors.

Hampshire welcomed back Adi Aymes for his first Championship match since his injury at Canterbury in April.

Winning the toss at the Rose Bowl is not always an advantage, but Lancashire would have felt they had made the correct decision to bat when they reach 99-1 shortly after lunch. Alec Swann looked comfortable on the slowish wicket that had a certain amount of uneven bounce, but certainly not on a par with the much critisised wicket against India.

Mark Chilton fell early being yorked by Tremlett, but after sharing a 78 run partnership the innings took on a different shape after David Byas was well caught in the slips off Alan Mullally.

Three batsmen fell without scoring, two to the guile of Shaun Udal, and one more to Tremlett. A patient 22 from Stuart Law, and a end of innings flurry from former Durham all-rounder John Wood took the Lancastrians to a modest 183.

It was never going to be easy coming in late in the day, and the Lancashire bowlers gave their all to try and fight back into the match. Giles White was first to go when Wood uprooted his middle stump, and then John Francis attempted to pull the speedy Anderson, and was adjudged to have been caught behind. Will Kendall meanwhile held the bowlers at bay his 80 ball stay had produced 18 runs, but it's value was at that stage of the game was not the runs, but the patience.

© Hampshire Cricket