Hampshire starlet Liam Dawson has been denied the chance to make his debut against Lancashire tomorrow - by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Dawson, 17, has been excellent for England U19s this summer and the ECB has decided that he should play the last three games of the one-day series against Pakistan U19s instead of Hampshire's crunch Championship match at Old Trafford.

All rounder Dawson, who is playing for England U19s at Northampton today, bowls left-arm spin and is an outstanding batsman who would replace Dimitri Mascarenhas in the lower order.

Captain Shane Warne said: "We want to give a debut to Liam Dawson. With Dimi Mascarenhas going off to play for England, Liam will allow us to keep our balance. It is a great opportunity for him, but the ECB is insisting that he plays for England Under19 instead.

"The guy has earned his recognition. It is an honour to represent your country at any level. But in this case I think it would be better for his development to bowl to the likes of Stuart Law and bat against Muttiah Muralitharan than to face Pakistan Under 19 in a one-day series. I hope that the ECB will change its mind."

With Dawson unavailable, visitors to Old Trafford this week will just have to be content with the sight of Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan in first-class opposition for the first time since the Hampshire captain's last Test appearance in Sri Lanka, at Colombo in March 2004.

Warne and Muralitharan, the two leading wicket-takers in the history of Test cricket, will be playing each for the first time in the County Championship and for the first time in any county match since Hampshire beat Lancashire in a one-day game for the first time in 13 years, at Old Trafford two years ago.

Hampshire are only 18 points behind leaders Sussex,with a game in hand, and 14 behind second-placed Yorkshire, with two games in hand.

Warne said: "The Lancashire game is massive. If we win we'll go top so we're well placed."

India Test star VVS Laxman will make his Lancashire debut while England's Mascarenhas is the only player unavailable of the Hampshire side that beat Worcestershire at the Rose Bowl. Sean Ervine and Jimmy Adams are added to the squad.

Hampshire (from): Brown, Carberry, Crawley, Lumb, Benham, Pothas, Warne, Griffiths, Powell, Bruce, Adams, Ervine