Michael Lumb responded to the challenge of opening the batting for the first time by slamming a career-best 73 as Yorkshire Phoenix overpowered Warwickshire Bears by eight wickets under the Edgbaston floodlights last night.

And another tactical move also paid off with skipper Richard Blakey promoting himself in the batting order and rapping out an unbeaten 48 from 46 balls with five boundaries.

The win ended a run of four consecutive defeats in Division One of the Norwich Union League by Yorkshire - their worst sequence since 1999 - and it also snuffed out Warwickshire's hopes of finishing in second place in the table.

Chasing a 192 target, Yorkshire got there with 17 overs to spare after being given a rousing start by Craig White and Lumb, who raced up 73 together in the first 11 overs with some powerful strokes off new Australian signing Damien Fleming and Neil Carter.

Each batsman had plundered five boundaries when White was bowled by Richardson for 36 and Blakey made sure that the tempo was maintained by playing a full part in an 80 stand with Lumb who reached his 50 with his tenth four.

Blakey hit three consecutive boundaries off Mohammad Sheikh and Lumb cover drove Dougie Brown for four to beat his previous best score in the competition of 66 against Kent at Headingley last season.

The left-hander was bowled driving at Carter for 73 off only 70 balls with 14 fours, leaving Blakey and Matthew Elliott to finish off a good night's work with an unbroken partnership of 41 in six overs, Elliott's 25 coming off 19 balls with four boundaries. Warwickshire struggled to 67-5, but were then rescued by a career-best 82 not out from Brown, who faced 85 balls and struck seven fours and three sixes.

He began the revival with Tony Frost in a painstaking sixth-wicket stand of 37 which used up 15 overs and then increased the tempo by putting on an unbroken 87 in 12 overs with Neil Smith.

Warwickshire won the toss and were put under immediate pressure by 17-year-olds Nick Thornicroft and Tim Bresnan, who form the youngest opening pair of pace bowlers in the country.

In Bresnan's first over Neil Carter chopped into his stumps and in the third over of the innings Mark Wagh wafted outside off-stump at Thornicroft and was caught behind by Blakey.

Thornicroft shrugged off an over in which he conceded 15 runs and bowled two consecutive no-balls, the first of the resulting free hits being slammed for four by Dominic Ostler and the second being caught at long on by Ryan Sidebottom. The young bowler gained revenge by having Ostler caught at short cover by White and Yorkshire kept it tight as Anthony McGrath and Sidebottom each picked up a wicket in frugal spells.

McGrath started with three consecutive maidens, the second of which brought him the dismissal of captain Mike Powell, who edged to Blakey, while Sidebottom had Ian Bell slicing a drive to point during a spell of seven overs in which he bowled three maidens and conceded only eight runs.

Blakey stumped Frost to give Richard Dawson something to celebrate on his Ashes call-up before Brown settled in with Smith.