A career-best 77 from Michael Lumb and a rugged 41 by Richard Blakey failed to halt Yorkshire's dismal losing sequence in the National League at Tunbridge Wells, where they went down by 22 runs to Kent who registered their first win in five matches.

The fifth-wicket pair had raised Yorkshire's hopes with a 99-stand which helped them recover from 64-4 after Ben Trott had shattered the early batting by grabbing three wickets for 19 runs in nine overs with the new ball.

But then Blakey was run out for 41 while trying to scamper a leg bye and the next ball from Andy Symonds accounted for Lumb who aimed towards square leg but missed and was lbw.

The left-hander faced 99 balls and struck seven boundaries in a well-controlled innings but it was not enough to stop Yorkshire registering their fourth consecutive defeat as relegation looms.

Chasing Kent's 208-7 on a slow-scoring pitch, Yorkshire were sent reeling by Trott who bowled pinch-hitter Chris Silverwood with a swinging leg-stump yorker, dismissed captain Matthew Wood lbw with a shooter and had Yuvraj Singh caught behind for a disappointing nine.

Craig White managed only six on his return from a rib operation before being bowled by Martin Saggers and the double blow of losing Blakey and Lumb to consecutive balls knocked all the stuffing out of Yorkshire.

Kent were kept pegged back in their innings by excellent bowling from Darren Gough and Ryan Sidebottom with Pieter Swanepoel giving sterling support with two wickets on his competition debut.

Opening for Kent with Mark Ealham was Rob Key who came straight from the Test match at Riverside to play but no arrangement was made for his England team-mate Anthony McGrath to join up with Yorkshire and lead his side.

Gough picked up Ealham's wicket in a mean opening spell of five overs for nine runs and when he was rested Sidebottom bowled Key with his first delivery and later in the over Ed Smith edged to Simon Guy for Yorkshire's other debutant to pouch his first catch.

A six-minute hold-up resulted when Symonds straight drove Swanepoel for six, the ball hitting an attendant sat by the sightscreen flush on the head and knocking him unconscious. He was taken to hospital and was later reported to be recovering well.

Symonds was Sidebottom's third victim but Greg Blewett refused to yield to his former county in a 57-stand in 13 overs with Matt Walker.

Both batsmen finally departed to the strongly built Swanepoel.

Updated: 09:59 Monday, June 09, 2003