Slowly but surely - with the emphasis on slowly - Hampshire are dragging themselves back into this game. On a stuffy day, the cricket, like the pitch, was slow and dry, the run-rate rarely rising above two an over, but that is no criticism of Hampshire. They have lost their past three games and sorely need the character shown yesterday by Michael Brown and Chris Benham. After they had been reduced to 35 for three, the fourth-wicket pair have added an unbroken 139, Hampshire's second highest stand of the season.

In the absence of Michael Carberry, who has been dropped, much rested on Brown's shoulders. A former Lancashire Second XI player, Brown spent 142 balls over his first fifty, 126 of them dot balls. Benham is better known as a stroke-player, but reined himself in to reach fifty from 106 balls.

During these sluggish passages of play, Dominic Cork usually takes it upon himself to breathe life into the game. Cork, a man who could provoke a slanging match among Trappist monks, tussled with Hampshire batsmen and Lancashire supporters alike, objecting to the crowd's grumbles about his short-pitched bowling. He did cause Brown an anxious moment, though, hitting him on the back of the helmet when he had made 41. Otherwise, Lancashire failed to land their blows.

There has been some turn for Gary Keedy, but slower than that extracted by Imran Tahir, the Hampshire leg spinner, who finished with five for 123 as Lancashire were bowled out for 357 in the morning. Francois du Plessis became the fourth Lancashire batsman to reach a half-century, but fell shortly afterwards, leg-before to an inswinger from James Tomlinson. The home side scraped their way to a fourth batting point, but Tahir completed the innings when he had Keedy caught on the mid-wicket boundary.

It is only two weeks since Lancashire enjoyed a comfortable victory at the Rose Bowl and Hampshire were immediately put on the back foot when Sajid Mahmood took a wicket with his fourth ball. Sean Ervine sliced a drive low to point, where Du Plessis dived forward to take a brilliant catch.

John Crawley lost his off stump when he offered no shot to Glen Chapple and, when Michael Lumb drove airily at Cork and was caught behind, Hampshire looked in trouble.

But Brown and Benham applied themselves to the task with few further qualms. On 74, Brown survived a confident appeal for a catch to gully and Benham, on 65, edged Mahmood between wicketkeeper and first slip. Luke Sutton, the 'keeper, and Paul Horton, at slip, left the chance to each other, ensuring that Brown and Benham can resume this morning.

Scoreboard

Lancashire: First Innings (overnight 261-5)
F du Plessis lbw b Tomlinson 57
L D Sutton c Pothas b Tremlett 2
G Chapple c Ervine b Balcombe 2
D G Cork c Pothas b Tomlinson 35
G Keedy c Balcombe b Tahir 15
S I Mahmood not out 12
Extras (b 4, lb 4, w 7, nb 6) 21

Total (109.2 overs) 357

Fall of wickets: 1-110, 2-143, 3-158, 4-223, 5-261, 6-269, 7-272, 8-294, 9-341.

Bowling: Tremlett 21-4-76-1; Tomlinson 17-3-57-2; Mascarenhas 13-3-40-0; Tahir 39.2-11-123-5; Balcombe 17-5-46-2; Ervine 2-0-7-0.

Hampshire: First Innings
S M Ervine c Du Plessis b Mahmood 2
M J Brown not out 75
J P Crawley b Chapple 3
M J Lumb c Sutton b Cork 9
C C Benham not out 70
Extras (b 8, lb 3, w 2, nb 2) 15

Total (3 wkts, 70 overs) 174

*A D Mascarenhas, N Pothas, Imran Tahir, D J Balcombe, C T Tremlett and J A Tomlinson to bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-15, 3-35.

Bowling: Chapple 14-5-28-1; Mahmood 16-7-33-1; Cork 11-2-30-1; Keedy 23-5-55-0; Croft 2-0-8-0; Du Plessis 4-1-9-0.

Umpires: J F Steele and G I Burgess.

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