Nottinghamshire defied the weather to claim victory at Grace Road and take another step towards the Friends Provident Trophy quarter-finals.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the Outlaws reached 149-3 in the 36th over when rain fell to curtail the innings.

A slow and low pitch suggested that the score was a promising one, with good contributions from Mark Wagh, who continued his good form in the competition with 40, and Samit Patel’s 48 not out.

At one stage it looked as though the game would be abandoned but a late burst of sunshine gave Leicestershire the opportunity to chase 77 off 10 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis Method.

They made a good start in reaching 24-0 in the first three overs but a tremendous over from Adam Voges swung the momentum back to Notts, claiming the wicket of James Allenby and conceding only two runs.

Darren Pattinson then picked up two wickets in his second over and with 14 needed off the final over, Ryan Sidebottom conceded only four to leave the hosts on 67-5, giving Notts the win by nine runs.

The two points put Notts back on top of Group A and victory over Hampshire tomorrow at Trent Bridge will confirm a home tie in the quarter-finals, to be played on Saturday.

Wagh admitted the players have felt the meeting with the Hawks would prove crucial and said: “It was always going to come down to beating Hampshire and so it’s proved.

“Adam Voges bowled an excellent over and that was a significant turning point. Darren Pattinson also did a great job as he got hit for six over square leg but then bowled two slower balls which both picked up wickets to peg them back again.”

Wagh is the Outlaws’ leading scorer in the competition with 263 runs, having been asked to open alongside Ali Brown at the start of the season.

He added: “Mick Newell and I discussed the idea before the competition started and we thought we would give it a try.

“My job is really to bat for as long as possible and provide the backbone to the innings. It would have been nice to build on my score having got to 40, but I’m enjoying the role.”