Date-stamped : 15 Sep97 - 22:10 Kent freeze again on the big occasion By Charles Randall at Headingley Yorkshire (187-3) bt Kent (185-8) by 7 wkts KENT might yet be looking back this season as the vintage sum- mer that never did quite happen. The likelihood of three run- ners-up placings and no titles grew stronger yesterday when their seven-wicket defeat at Headingley consigned them to second place in the Axa Life League. Kent needed victory to remain at the top of the table, but they were outplayed by Yorkshire to a surprising degree. If Kent do finish second three times, the players will lose a total of -L80,000 in the basic prize-money share-out. That would be one way of measuring their disappointment. Second on Sunday, beaten fi- nalists in the Benson and Hedges Cup, Kent are poised rather nervously in second place in the championship, which con- cludes next weekend. Steve Marsh, Kent`s captain, admitted yesterday`s had been a poor performance all round, the worst since the Lord`s final de- feat by Surrey two months ago. He added ruefully: "It might work in our favour that we`re underdogs for the championship race." He agreed that Kent still tended to freeze on big occasions, though there was improvement. "We`re getting there very slowly," he said. "During the season we having been winning championship and one-day games, pulling games out of the fire which we hadn`t done in the past. But when it comes to the equivalent of a final, I`m at a loss for words to put a finger on why we lose. The guys were up for it and relaxed today." Darren Lehmann, Yorkshire`s Australian bats- man, struck a superbly inventive 78 not out in 68 balls but the home bowl- ing proved to be an important fac- tor. Or perhaps Kent`s batsmen treated a second string attack too lightly. Marsh won the toss and Kent were reasonably satisfied with 185 on a bare, responsive pitch until Lehmann struck the ball to all quarters to ruin their day. The left-hander completed his Sunday season with 643 runs, 12 short of beating Matthew Hayden for the -L5,000 top batsman award from the sponsors. The day began with an oddity when Yorkshire`s best five bowlers were all ruled out for this supposedly important 40-over game. It meant that Peter Hartley, after his acrimonious release last week, had to be brought back for a final bow. Kent can cringe when they look back at their Sunday defeat at Horsham in May - one of only two wins for bottom side Sussex. They could regard their victory over Warwickshire, the new cham- pions, as some consolation. Kent did not bat well after a good start from Trevor Ward, and their familiar concave middle order weighed down their tempo. There was no argument when Lehmann got his eye in and began to manipulate Kent`s bowling with powerful improvisation. Michael Vaughan, lbw for 49, helped Lehmann put on 125 in 19 overs for the second wicket. The end came with more than 10 overs re- maining. Paul Strang, Kent`s Zimbabwean leg spinner, left the ground to catch his flight back to Africa yesterday evening, having helped more with the bat yesterday than his renowned bowling. He will miss the championship climax. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)