WHAT a difference two days make - or was it the increase of 25 overs?

After the frenetic activity of Friday's Twenty20 Cup launch, the National League seemed rather humdrum yesterday as Durham completed a double over the same opponents at Trent Bridge.

They managed it by seven runs, despite a limp batting performance as the bowlers, led by Neil Killeen, imposed a stranglehold with a display of impressive accuracy.

There was at least some late drama as an undefeated 42 by 25-year-old Yorkshire reject Gareth Clough left Nottinghamshire needing 11 off the last over with two wickets left.

A leg bye off the first ball took Clough off strike, then Greg Smith tried to paddle Killeen to fine leg and lost his leg stump. Three balls and two singles later Killeen bowled Stuart MacGill to finish with five for 22, the first five-wicket haul by a Durham bowler in one-day cricket for two years.

In the previous week's defeat at the Rose Bowl, Durham included ten wides in conceding 18 extras, which cost them the match.

This time it was the other way round with Nottinghamshire sending down 19 wides as extras contributed 34 to Durham's total of 183 all out.

But two wides by Ian Hunter were the only ones Durham bowled and after Killeen struck in his fifth, sixth and seventh overs to reduce the hosts to 40 for four, all hope of a barrage of boundaries for the sun-baked crowd vanished.

Guy Welton and Paul Franks settled for pushing ones and twos in a stand of 44 in 15 overs before falling to successive balls, at which point what should have been a simple task had become a tall order.

Wayne Noon and Clough showed some urgency in adding 32 before Lady Luck smiled on Durham for a third time when a fierce drive by Clough was deflected on to the stumps by the bowler, Nicky Phillips, to run out Noon.

The Sky TV cameras seemed to confirm that two questionable lbw decisions had gone in Durham's favour, but no-one can deny they are due a few slices of luck.

Clough struck Phillips for six over mid-wicket as he and Richard Logan put on 37 in six overs to give Notts hope.

But for the second time in the innings Hunter was recalled for one over and gained a crucial lbw verdict.

Whereas Durham slaughtered Australian leg-spinner MacGill in Friday's Twenty20 Cup win, they hadn't a clue how to play him yesterday.

In truth, it all hinged on Martin Love spoiling his comeback innings of 55 by holing out in his Test colleague's second over.

MacGill, never allowed to settle in conceding 41 off four overs on Friday, dropped straight on to a length after Love swept him to deep mid-wicket.

He also turned his leg breaks sharply and bowled Phillips with a lovely top-spinning googly to finish with three for 26 in his nine overs.

At 116 for three after 26 overs when MacGill came on, Durham were well placed to post a commanding total after choosing to bat. They took five off his first over at a time when they were accelerating nicely, but only 15 off his next seven as the innings stagnated.

Once MacGill finished Durham could still make little progress as left-armer Greg Smith returned to finish with figures of three for 16. They were all out with one ball of their 45 overs left.

Durham scampered to 160 in 24.1 overs on Friday; this time it took them until the 40th over to reach the same mark. The only stand of note came when Love and Gary Pratt put on 72 for the fourth wicket.

This was Love's first one-day innings since June 4 last year and he was at the crease to face the fifth ball after Nicky Peng fell victim to two South Africans with EU passports.

He sliced a drive off Smith to backward point, where Kevin Pietersen leapt high to his right to hold a superb one-handed catch.

Phil Mustard again promised much without delivering anything substantial, cracking three off-side fours before limply edging a short ball to slip.

Vince Wells was deceived by Smith's slower ball and at 49 for three Durham had some repair work to do.

Love did well to get back 18 days after breaking his thumb in the C & G humbling by Lancashire, but his timing was awry as he made only eight in his first 11 overs at the crease.

He then ran Logan to third man for four and two overs later drove him to the cover boundary to suggest he was back in the groove.

Pratt began the match second in the National League averages, having been out only twice in making 206 runs, and showed commendable restraint before helping Love to press the accelerator.

Between the 25th and 30th overs 35 runs were scored, but Pratt departed in the 28th when he shaped to cut the first ball of Logan's second spell and chopped it into his off stump.

Love, who made his runs off 77 balls, fell three overs later then skipper Jon Lewis was run out. He set off sharply from the non-striker's end when Gordon Muchall got an inside edge via his pad and the ball ran just in front of square leg.

Muchall initially set off when he saw Lewis coming, but then stopped and the captain turned round too late to beat Jason Gallian's throw.

Hunter was stumped when he ventured down the track to a ball from MacGill which pitched wide of off stump and turned wider.

Phillips was next to go, leaving Muchall and Killeen to put on 24 with the help of a few more wides. Muchall took ten balls to get off the mark, but was beginning to get the hang of MacGill when he drove him to long-on for four in his final over.

Read more about Durham here.