IF ONLY Kevin Pietersen was able to rescue his new county teammates from this one.

After a winter spent producing heroics for England, despite the failings of his one-day international teammates, it is a pity Pietersen can only watch his new county struggle against a side that can hardly be described as one of the first division's leading lights.

Hampshire were today in danger of losing their first game back in the County Championship's top flight despite an improved performance with the ball that limited Gloucestershire to a first innings lead of 24.

Shane Warne's men failed to build on a positive start to the second day of their County Championship season, that had seen Gloucestershire bowled out for 221 in reply to Hampshire's first innings total of 197.

A stand of 44 between openers Jimmy Adams and Michael Brown was encouraging but Hampshire lost three wickets in the space of eight balls and never recovered.

Adams and Brown both played on to their own stumps in successive overs.

And then it got worse.

John Crawley was out first ball when he edged James Averis into the slips.

At least it provided Derek Kenway with the chance to shine following Pietersen's late withdrawal, and he and Simon Katich dug deep on a wicket of variable bounce.

Katich had scored with more freedom than any of his colleagues in the first innings but this time he showed admirable patience, waiting 30 balls before scoring his first run.

He then opened his shoulders and shared in a fluent 40-run fourth-wicket partnership with Kenway before he was undone by a late Lewis inswinger.

When Katich struggles Hampshire really are in trouble.

And when Kenway edged into the slips three overs later for the addition of just a single, they were in the mire.

It got worse when Nic Pothas - who like Crawley scored just four runs in two innings in this match - was trapped leg before by Steve Kirby for an 18-ball duck.

Pothas's dismay at the decision was clear but Hampshire had no answer to Gloucestershire's three-pronged seam attack of Kirby, Lewis and Averis.

The wicket was not easy for the batters and, on more than one occasion, lifting deliveries tested the padding in their gloves.

But despite the bowler-friendly conditions, it was not the sort of performance that Warne was after, undoing as it did the hard work of the bowlers in the morning session.

It had been an impressive comeback and Billy Taylor was excellent, taking 3 for 15 from his six overs before pulling up with a tight hamstring.

Warne's brio set Glos' collapse from 118 for 2 over night to 221 all out in motion.

The Hampshire maestro had Averis caught in the slips in the fourth over of the day and the rest gradually followed.

Gloucestershire's opening partnership of 80 was their highest and only one other player managed to score a boundary as Hampshire took the last eight wickets for 103 runs.

That player was No 10 Lewis, who smashed 40 from 37 balls before Hampshire began their sorry reply.

Hampshire were 111 for 6 at stumps, a lead of just 87.