Championship favourites Hampshire suffered a nightmare first day of the season against Lancashire.

Installed as 9-2 favourites on the eve of the new season, Hampshire were reduced to 130-7 thanks to an excellent debut for 20-year-old Tom Smith (3-29), who was handed his chance in the absence of England's Sajid Mahmood.

Play did not get underway until 3pm due to heavy rain but Hampshire will wish they could start the season again.

The portents were not good for the rest of the innings when, after Shaun Udal had lost the toss, Hampshire's two Lancastrians failed to build on solid starts in their first championship games against their former county.

Former Lancashire captain John Crawley put on 34 for the second wicket with Burnley-born Michael Brown, who played two second XI games for his home county in his teens.

Crawley, playing with the aid of a cortisone injection, looked in good touch in his third appearance at Old Trafford since his acrimonious move to Hampshire four years ago.

The former Manchester Grammar pupil was given a warm reception by a small crowd, including his dad.

So much for Old Trafford's notorious Pit of Hate, the members' enclosure in front of the pavilion renowned for making certain visiting players feel unwelcome.

The passage of time has helped heal the wounds of Crawley's bitter contract dispute, but it must have felt like the good old days for the 34-year-old as he scored one of his three fours with the first ball of his season.

Crawley (below) looked increasingly fluent, square cutting the ball with authority before departing for 20. He chopped a ball that kept low on to his stumps to hand Smith a maiden championship wicket.

Brown was watched by family and some of his ex-Burnley CC teammates and was continuing his impressive pre-season form before being trapped lbw in the first over after tea.

He was given the chance at the top of the order with his former British Universities opening partner Jimmy Adams after scoring a century and 95 in two of Hampshire's pre season friendlies.

But, like Crawley, he will have hoped to have progressed to a bigger score after progressing to 23 before becoming the third Hampshire wicket to fall.

Left-hander Adams was caught behind in the fifth over while the two debutants top scored. Dominic Thornely (31) hooked to square leg and Michael Carberry (30), having been dropped twice, was trapped lbw by an off-cutter in the first over of a new Smith spell.

It got worse for Hampshire when, in the following over and with no addition to the score, Nic Pothas was run out by Sean Ervine for just six.

Ervine attempted a quick single but Cork fielded the ball well off his own bowling and a direct hit that glanced the stumps was enough to dislodge the bails with Pothas a yard short of his ground.

Hampshire were 126-6 and that became 127-7 when Dimitri Mascarenhas was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Luke Sutton, who dived across third slip to catch one handed.