With Kent at one stage tottering on 95 for six it seemed as if Yorkshire were about to pull off one of the most remarkable Championship victories in their recent history after being down and almost out earlier in the game.

But then Matthew Walker was joined by old-hand Matthew Fleming and the pair scored the remaining 73 runs required to bring Kent a four-wicket win to add further gloom to the County Champions.

And one of the first congratulatory calls which Fleming received in the dressing room after compiling an unbeaten 42 was from his old friend and adversary, David Byas!

Since claiming the crown under Byas's leadership at Scarborough last August, Yorkshire have now lost five consecutive matches and the last time they endured a similar bad run was in 1889 when the sequence was extended to seven defeats.

Kent's win broke Yorkshire's iron grip of five Championship triumphs on the trot against them and it was their first victory since their success at Maidstone in 1994.

Even more depressing for Yorkshire was the fact that it left them anchored at the foot of the First Division table on a mere 11 points and in grave danger of becoming isolated unless there is a sudden and rapid change of fortune.

The consolation for Yorkshire is the way they staged such a spirited recovery after looking all set to endure a massive innings defeat.

It was sparked by Richard Blakey and Richard Dawson's record-breaking seventh-wicket stand of 162 which left Kent to make 168 and it was continued by Darren Lehmann and Chris Silverwood when they grabbed five wickets between them for 11 runs.

Had Yorkshire been able to call upon a full bowling attack they may just have made it, but they were without Ryan Sidebottom who was forced to sit it out after straining his back in the first innings.

And they suffered another casualty late in the game when Silverwood also hurt his back during his final burst of bowling.

"Everything seemed to go right for us last season and now the opposite is happening," said Lehmann, who has so far seen Yorkshire beaten in all three Championship matches under his command."

"I was delighted for Blakey and Dawson who did a great job to get us back in the game and give us half a chance.

"We looked as if we could have been in a winning position with Kent on 95 for six but we were probably 30 or 40 runs short of really being able to put pressure on them and we missed not being able to call upon Sidebottom.

"The fact is, however, that we are throwing away matches by collapsing in the first innings and making disappointing scores which was something we did not do last year.