County Championship: Lancashire's bid for victory over Hampshire held up by rain

James Vince will look to press his case for an England Test place on the last day at Old Trafford

Lancashire's push for victory over Hampshire was halted by rain with no play was possible after lunch.

The visitors are 271 runs behind with a day to play after the early loss of Michael Carberry, caught behind off England seamer James Anderson.

James Vince and Will Smith remain, with the weather raising Hampshire's hopes of securing an unlikely draw.

Vince, run out for a duck in the first innings when watched by England coach Trevor Bayliss, was unbeaten on 39.

Kyle Jarvis dropped a return catch offered by Smith before he had scored.

The former Durham captain took 43 deliveries to get off the mark and was later worked over by left-arm pace bowler Neil Wagner, taking a blow to the head.

But on a surface that remains good for batting and with another uncertain forecast for Wednesday, Hampshire could yet escape defeat.

Lancashire captain Steven Croft:

"We started really well and probably deserved more than one wicket. This season we seem to have dominated every session we've played and it is frustrating that we haven't been able to get out there.

"We have gone back to basics, bowling to the top of off-stump and keeping it tight, and batting in partnerships and batting long. It has all gone to plan so far.

"It has been a great team effort so far this season, it is not just down to one bowler getting the wickets or one batsman scoring the runs. It is a long season and you can never rely just on one person.

"It was brilliant for Luke to get a hundred, especially at Old Trafford. It is something he won't forget. Getting big scores is something we highlighted at the start of the year. Nobody is looking down the order wanting someone else to score the runs. We are all doing it as a team."

Hampshire coach Dale Benkenstein told BBC Radio Solent:

"The weather has obviously helped us a bit, but getting through the session as we did, we can take quite a lot of confidence out of that.

"I'm just disappointed we didn't do that on the first day. We tend to start a bit slowly and it does put us on the back foot.

"The positive side of the season so far is we have shown some character fighting back. But, we've got three good sessions tomorrow where we can at least come out of this game with a couple of points and some pride as well.

"It was going to be tough to bat for two days, now it's down to saving the game and that's what's in front of us.

"From a team point of view, we had an opportunity to be in a better position in this game and that's an area where we've got to improve on."