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 yesterday.

And the hero of the hour 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 taking two middle order wickets to grab the initiative away from Kent, Craven was entrusted with the penultimate over at 178 for eight with a further 20 wanted and 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 gives them hope of avoiding relegation.

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

Put in to bat, Yorkshire slumped to 39 for three with Ben Trott doing the damage and both Stephen Fleming and Yuvraj Singh looking amazed to be given out by umpire Evans, Fleming thinking he had not touched a sharp away swinger and Yuvraj wondering 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 both 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 struck the stumps - yet 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 for eight Yorkshire were well short of a competitive total but Bresnan and Silverwood hit out lustily in an unbroken ninth wicket stand of 54 in seven overs to rush the score on to 197 for eight, Bresnan belting Mark Ealham for six before Silverwood hit him even further with a sensational stroke over mid-wicket.

Ed Smith, coming in to the match with four consecutive centuries to 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.

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