KENT kept alive their outside chances of making the NatWest Pro40 League play-off game by clinching a dramatic 13-run win over Yorkshire in Canterbury by defending a seemingly inadequate total of 228 for nine.

Martin Saggers, the subject of a two-year contract offer from Essex, was again the bowling hero for injury-hit Spitfires with an eight-over stint of three for 21 that heaped pressure on the Phoenix middle order batters.

After beating the bat several times in a superb opening stint from the Pavilion End, Saggers was rewarded with the scalp of Test skipper Michael Vaughan (10), caught behind when aiming to drive a full length away-swinger.

Saggers conceded only six runs from as many overs and though Key withdrew him to hold a couple of overs back for late in the game, Yorkshire still struggled to accelerate.

Cook switched ends to catch Gerard Brophy (18) from a skier off his own bowling and Anthony McGrath went for 14, stumped by Geraint Jones at the second attempt off James Tredwell.

Phoenix posted their 100 in the 22nd over and Jacques Rudolph, having been dropped on 35 and 66, reached his half-century from 65 balls and with six fours, but Kent were still in with a shout.

Teenager Alex Blake was introduced for the 25th over to bowl at former Pakistan Test skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, who duly clubbed him for four leg-side sixes, three of them in succession, the second of which sailed over the new lime tree.

Inzamam passed 50 from 26 balls and with five sixes in all, but just six balls later he pulled a good length ball from van Jaarsveld to Tredwell at mid-wicket to make it 169 for four and end a stand that added 89 in 12 overs.

Some 42 were still needed off the last five overs and, with the pressure mounting, Saggers returned to pluck out Rudolp's leg stump out with the first ball of a new spell and send him packing for 86 from 107 balls.

Tim Bresnan then slogged a Saggers' slower ball to Tredwell at mid-on to leave the Tykes needing 28 off the last two overs.

Simon Cook yorked Richard Pyrah (1) in the penultimate over and, with only four conceded in the over, Yorkshire faced hitting 24 off Saggers' last over.

Darren Gough lofted the first ball for six over extra cover, but Saggers got his line and length spot on thereafter to see Kent to an improbable win.

Having been invited to bat first on a St Lawrence pitch of decent pace and bounce, Kent would hoped to have posted a par score approaching 260, but a short boundary on the Old Dover Road side of the ground enticed their batsmen like a moth to a flame, and ultimately proved the undoing of most of them.

The first six to fall were all aiming toward the ropes no more than 55 yards away on the Lime Tree side, but all perished in trying.

Joe Denly (36) skied to mid-wicket where Rudolph took the first of three catches to end a first wicket stand worth 74 with Rob Key (33), who soon followed after finding a leading edge that flew to third man.

One-day pinch-hitter Cook batted lustily for a competition-best 49 from 43 balls, his highest one-day score in four years, as he and van Jaarsveld added 66 in eight overs before Cook went leg before to David Wainwright.

Matt Walker (2) and Darren Stevens (7) holed out cheaply then Neil Dexter (6) showed his inexperience by heaving across the line to right-arm seamer Richard Pyrah, who took three for 50.

Van Jaarsveld was the only Spitfires to reach 50 from 47 balls and with only one four and a six, but only Tredwell (20) reached double figures thereafter as Kent still appeared well short of a defendable total.

Kent will have to wait on other mid-week results before knowing if they will finish third in the table and host the play-off game against the seventh-placed finishers from Division 1 on Sunday, September 23.