Hampshire pair Jimmy Adams and Chris Benham both scored fifties as Loughborough University dominated the first day's play at the Rose Bowl.

John Francis was the other Hampshire man in a Loughborough side that arrived at West End fresh from winning the BUSA championship final against Durham last week.

Francis is the only one of Loughborough's Hampshire trio to have played first class cricket - he averaged 65 in the championship at the back end of last season.

But he failed to capitalise against what was effectively Hampshire's second-team attack.

Francis edged the last bowl before lunch from leg-spinner Ian Hilsum to Derek Kenway at first slip after Hilsum, 20, had beaten Adams in the flight in bowling the left-hander for 53.

Adams scored hundreds in each innings against Kent at the beginning of the season and he looked on course for another ton before he went, having put on 106 for the first wicket with Vikram Atri.

The 21-year-old reached his fifty in front of Jimmy Cook and Tim Tremlett with a textbook cover drive - one of his five boundaries.

"It was disappointing to get out just before lunch," he said. "I was a bit nervous to start with but it was a nice atmosphere to play in.

"It's a dry wicket and the odd ball hits a crack and keeps low but hopefully I'll get more runs in the second innings."

Benham, 19, has been captaining Loughborough's second string this season and he supported centurion Mark Powell, sharing in an unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 172 with his skipper before the declaration.

Powell is on Northamptonshire's books and he scored his 124 off 174 balls after being dropped by Jason Laney at second slip when on nought.

One of his two sixes was hooked over wicketkeeper Iain Brunnschweiler's head off the bowling of James Tomlinson and he drove and pulled successive balls from James Hamblin for four after tea.

Benham reached his fifty with a lofted drive to the long on boundary before Loughborough, who are coached by former England bowler Graham Dilley, asked Hampshire to bat.

Derek Kenway was dropped by wicketkeeper Chris Coleman in the first over of Hampshire's reply but Jason Laney had time to smash two sixes before stumps.

At the close, Hampshire were 333 behind Loughborough UCCE's 371-5 declared.