County Championship: Lancashire fight back against Hampshire

But Middleton found good support from Ben Brown and reached his hundred off 173 balls, which contained 13 fine fours, particularly off the back foot.

He matched a landmark of his father, Tony, who hit a century at Old Trafford in 1992, the last time Hampshire won on this ground.

The 22-year-old was eventually bowled off an inside edge by Wells and that gave Lancashire a foothold in the match before the new ball came to their aid.

Brown (40) and Tom Prest, for one, were out to loose shots in consecutive Aspinwall overs as the willing 20-year-old claimed 3-96.

James Fuller survived two dropped catches before edging behind off George Balderson for 23, while both Kyle Abbott and John Turner went without scoring.

Last man Mohammad Abbas only had to survive one ball as Dawson saw the day through, ending four short of a battling half-century.