Nottinghamshire's title hopes are hit as Durham clinch dramatic win

Nottinghamshire's hopes of winning the County Championship Division One title were hit as they suffered a 16-run defeat against Durham at Trent Bridge.

Durham, 301-7 overnight, declared on 325-8 to set the hosts a target of 366.

Nottinghamshire looked on course to reach that total as openers Alex Hales (101) and Riki Wessels (98) put on 168 for the first wicket.

But the hosts fell from 288-5 to 349 all out as Mark Wood took 5-78 to help Durham win their third match in a row.

Wood, 22, was playing in only his second Championship game of the season and claimed the first five-wicket haul of his career.

He took the crucial wickets of centurion Hales, captain Chris Read and then dismissed the last three Nottinghamshire batsmen - Ben Phillips, Luke Fletcher and Andy Carter.

After the wickets of Wessels and Hales, Nottinghamshire's hopes had rested on Steven Mullaney, who was left stranded on 60 not out.

He eventually ran out of partners as Fletcher and Carter's wickets both came in the space of three balls.

Nottinghamshire, the 2010 county champions, have three matches remaining and are 18 points behind leaders Warwickshire, who have also played a game less.

Durham, meanwhile, have opened up a 20-point gap between themselves and second-from-bottom Lancashire to boost their hopes of survival.