Notts Director of Cricket Mick Newell pinpointed Mark Wagh’s injury as the major turning point in Tuesday’s defeat against Durham.

Wagh reached 52 before leaving the field complaining of pain in his shoulder and the Outlaws lost quick wickets to finish six runs short of their revised total.

”We lost all of our momentum when Mark Wagh retired hurt at a crucial stage and it was never going to be easy from that point,” said Newell.

“Bilal was in there and doing well but he’s not a boundary hitter and it looked like Mark was the one who would win the game for us.

“With three overs to go, we recognised that it was going to be tough to score runs off Steve Harmison but Graham Onions bowled a good over in the middle of that and put pressure on us.

“They bowled well and we couldn’t hit boundaries which made it a difficult chase.”

Notts remain top of NatWest Pro40 Division One and the result catapults Durham to fourth.

“If we win our next three games in the competition, then we should win it,” said Newell.

“It’s a very close league and a lot of games will be played before our next fixture so the shape of the competition could change quite dramatically.”