Shane Warne watched the first day of the championship match against Gloucestershire from the dressing room.

On a day dedicated to the memory of the late Major Ronald Ferguson, Warne was there to pay his own respects to the popular Hampshire supporter.

The Aussie ace is pictured inset above, with the Major's widow, Mrs Susan Ferguson.

Yesterday was one day that Hampshire did not miss Warne on the pitch.

It was as seamer friendly a day as you could wish for at the Rose Bowl and Hampshire's four-pronged attack capitalised on the conditions, bowling out Gloucestershire for 185 in 66 overs.

Warne is in town for the next week but Hampshire would have done little better even with the Aussie maestro in their side.

Leaden skies and the loss of 22 overs to rain hardly made for spin friendly conditions. Shaun Udal and Simon Katich did not bowl a ball between them.

Instead it was left to Messrs Akram, Giddins, Mascarenhas and Mullally to work their way through a Gloucestershire side captained by Craig Spearman in the absence of Mark Alleyne.

Once again Wasim was the pick of the bowlers. It will surely not be too long before he takes his first Hampshire five-for but his 3-29 was backed up by the rest of the attack.

Pitch liaison officer Mike Denness saw nothing wrong with the wicket. It was mainly good bowling that skittled Gloucestershire.

There was little sign of the damage that was to come in the morning session when Gloucestershire made their way to 85-2 before the rain- interrupted lunch break.

Wasim knocked back Spearman's off stump in the fifth over and Mascarenhas did the same to Philip Weston with a leg cutter that pitched on middle.

After torrential rain lengthened the lunch interval, Hampshire's bowlers, particularly Wasim, found some extra swing

Jonty Rhodes was pinned in front after offering no stroke to Ed Giddins and then Matt Windows and Chris Taylor departed in successive overs from Wasim and Giddins

Windows wafted at a ball angled across him and then Giddins pinned Taylor leg before wih no addition to the score .

A seventh-wicket stand of 41 between Alex Gidman and Ian Harvey ended when Mullally uprooted Gidman's off stump with the first of his two devastating yorkers.

Gidman had been dropped by Will Kendall at wide second slip off the bowling of Mascarenhas when he had made 16 but Mullally ensured that it was not a costly drop.

That was the first of three wickets to fall in as many overs.

Harvey departed in the next, caught at first slip by Simon Katich, his Australia A captain, as he nibbled at a Mascarenhas away-swinger.

Mullally followed up by making a mess of Martyn Ball's middle and leg stumps but then Jon Lewis helped debutant Stephen Pope add 31 in five overs, with 18 runs coming from a single Mullally over, four in byes.

Mullally and Mascarenhas were both hit for straight sixes by Lewis and Mike Smith but Hampshire would have settled for bowling out Gloucestershire for 185 before the start of play.

Two Robin Smith catches helped Mascarenhas and Wasim wrap up the innings. Lewis was caught at mid wicket before 20-year-old Pope, who was only playing because of an injury, popped one up to short leg.

John Crawley helped Hampshire to 17-0 without loss at the close.