Michael Vaughan at last found the sort of batting form he has been searching for as he completed his maiden totesport League century for Yorkshire Phoenix against Kent Spitfires at Headingley.

The England captain's unbeaten 116 was exactly what Vaughan needed ahead of the second Ashes Test which starts at Edgbaston on Thursday - but it could not prevent Yorkshire from going on to lose the match by five wickets with four balls remaining.

Yorkshire have now been beaten in their last four games and unless they recover quickly then promotion will be out of reach.

Vaughan so dominated the crease on a slow damp pitch that he made his runs out of a total of only 216 for six, Michael Lumb the next highest scorer with 28.

Vaughan, playing in his 99th Sunday league match, easily surpassed his previous best score of 90 against Surrey at Headingley two years' ago.

His century came off 120 balls with ten fours and at the close of the innings he had batting for two-and-half hours, receiving a total of 129 deliveries and striking 11 boundaries.

Yorkshire were forced into make two late changes with Ian Harvey dropping out with a bruised thumb and Richard Dawson being unfit with a swollen elbow. They were replaced by Richard Pyrah and debutant left-arm spinner David Wainwright.

With opening bowler Simon Cook having captain Craig White caught at third slip and then getting Phil Jaques to chip a simple catch to mid-off, Vaughan had to proceed with great caution during a 60 stand in 12 overs with Lumb who looked as if a fifth consecutive one-day half-century was on the way until he advanced on off-spinner, James Tredwell, and was stumped.

Anthony McGrath patted back a catch to Tredwell before Vaughan completed his 50 out of 112 for four and with Richard Pyrah and Ismail Dawood both departing soon after making double figures, it was left to Vaughan and Tim Bresnan to steer Yorkshire to a competitive total with an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 61 in seven overs.

Vaughan's knock was also the highest by a Yorkshire batsman this season, beating Matthew Wood's 111 in the opening match against Surrey Lions at The Oval.

Even though Yorkshire prevented Kent from breaking loose early on they never put their batsmen under pressure and when 47 were required off the last seven overs they got them at a canter.

It was a good day for Vaughan with the ball, too, because he was brought into the attack at 85 for one in 22 overs and went on to take two wickets.

He held on to a fast return catch to his right to send back opener Joe Denly for 49 after he had added 83 in 19 overs with Martin van Jaarsveld and later dismissed Darren Stevens lbw to finish with two for 42 from his eight overs.

Vaughan then ran out Niall O' Brien to make Kent 167 for five in the 38th over but Matthew Walker took charge of the situation with an unbeaten 56 from 51 deliveries with seven fours, putting on an unbroken 51 in seven overs with Tredwell who ended with 29 not out.

Vaughan said: "I have felt good for the past week and I also felt pretty good at Lord's in the first Test but I got a couple of decent nuts and you cannot do much about that.

"From a personal point of view things could not have gone much better for me today but I was still disappointed that Yorkshire lost the game.

"I must now try to take this sort of form into the Test at Edgbaston.

"There is not a lot wrong with my batting, just a couple of things which I have been working on and which went all right in this innings. I still think I did the right thing getting practice with Duncan Fletcher and Matthew Hoggard last week rather than playing for Yorkshire against Derbyshire.

"It was a tough option but Duncan felt a couple of days working with him would be more worthwhile. In a way it put more pressure on me because things would have been written about me if I had got a duck today."

* Michael Vaughan, will bring most of his Ashes team to Headingley to take on Yorkshire in his Asda Twenty20 Challenge match on August 31.

Vaughan announced yesterday that his England XI squad, which may be added to later, already includes Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Andy Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, Darren Gough and Andy Flower.

The Yorkshire XI is: Craig White (captain), Ian Harvey, Phil Jaques, Anthony McGrath, Matthew Wood, Michael Lumb, Tim Bresnan, Richard Dawson, Ismail Dawood, Matthew Hoggard and Chris Silverwood.

"I think Twenty20 cricket is fantastic for the development of the game," said Vaughan. "It has reached a new audience because most people can relate to it either through playing 20 overs cricket at school or on an evening.

"I don't know what the state of the Ashes series will be by then but I will still enjoy the occasion."

Tickets are available from the Yorkshire ticket office, through the ticket hotline on 0871 222 0994 or on the club website, www.yorkshireccc.com. Prices are £8 for adults and £4 for concessions if bought in advance and £10 and £8 on the day.