Yorkshire Phoenix ended their depressing sequence of six consecutive National League defeats by fighting back hard to shoot down Kent Spitfires by 18 runs with seven balls to spare at Scarborough on Sunday.

The hero was batsman-turned-bowler Vic Craven, who replaced the injured Ryan Sidebottom and grabbed four wickets for 22 runs, Yorkshire's second best bowling analysis of the season.

After having taken two middle order wickets to wrest the initiative, Craven was entrusted with the penultimate over with Kent 178-8 and needing a further 20.

He mopped up by bowling David Fulton and Martin Saggers in the space of five deliveries.

It was Yorkshire's first win in the competition since the opening match of the season and it gave them hope of lifting themselves off the bottom of the table and avoiding relegation.

But some of their antics in the field overstepped the mark when they thought decisions had not gone their way.

Steve Kirby and Chris Silverwood were both guilty of over-reacting and lucky not to find themselves in trouble with umpires Barrie Leadbeater and Jeff Evans.

Leadbeater admitted afterwards that Yorkshire 'had got very close to the edge' but that no action was being taken.

Put in to bat, Yorkshire slumped to 39-3, Ben Trott doing the damage.

Stephen Fleming and Yuvraj Singh looking amazed to be given out by umpire Evans.

Fleming thought he had not touched a sharp away swinger and Yuvraj wondered if the ball had bounced in front of James Tredwell at second slip.

Lumb top-edged a rash hook and Matthew Wood's defiant innings ended with an under edge as he tried to swing Amjad Khan to square leg.

Making his debut for Kent was Sri Lankan spin magician Muttiah Muralitharan, who bamboozled Craven and Andy Gray.

But it was his agile fielding which resulted in two more significant dismissals.

Craig White, Yorkshire's top scorer with 47, tried to scramble a single to mid-on that wasn't there and Muralitharan shied down the stumps.

His running out of Richard Blakey for 35 was even more stunning.

Blakey, who had put on 49 with White, also drove to mid-on and Muralitharan sprawled forward and released the ball in the same movement to find the target again.

At 143-8 Yorkshire were well short of a competitive total, but Tim Bresnan and Silverwood hit out lustily in an unbroken ninth wicket stand of 54 in seven overs to rush the score on to 197-8.

Bresnan belted Mark Ealham for six before Silverwood hit him even further with a sensational stroke over mid-wicket.

Bresnan finished with 36 from 32 balls with four fours and a six.

Silverwood had 26 at a run a ball with two fours and a six.

Ed Smith, coming in to the match with four consecutive centuries against his name, took fiercely struck boundaries off both Silverwood and Kirby and at one point Silverwood looked furious that Smith had not been given out caught behind.

He had put on 57 in 12 overs with Rob Key when he cut savagely at Silverwood only for White to take a blinding catch at point and in the same over Khan was bowled aiming to leg.

Kirby bowled the stubborn Key for 28 and with both Craven and Gray piling on the pressure, Kent dipped to 116-6.

Fulton and James Tredwell took a grip of the situation with a 46 stand in ten overs, Tredwell driving Gray for six.

But with 36 wanted from five overs Gray came back to bowl Tredwell with a low full toss.

Bresnan deservedly got a wicket by having Muralitharan caught behind chasing a wide one and it was left to Craven to complete a much-needed victory.

Updated: 09:57 Monday, July 28, 2003