Otago retains a slim chance of lifting the Plunket Shield but the equation got a lot harder following the opening day of play during the last round of the competition yesterday.
The Volts battled through to 355 for nine against Auckland at stumps on day one at Colin Maiden Park.
Their efforts have seen them rewarded with three batting bonus points, with a possibility of picking up another point if they can reach 400 before 110 overs when the game resumes today.
But Canterbury, which nursed a healthy lead at the top of the competition table before the final round got under way, picked up three bowling bonus points in its match with Northern Districts in Mt Maunganui.
That moves Canterbury to 110 points. Should Otago (fourth place) pick up maximum points (20) from its match it can only reach a total of 112 points. Canterbury, which has a superior net runs per wicket, can effectively eliminate Otago if it picks up two batting bonus points today. To do that it needs to reach 300 within 110 overs.
Otago has not won the first-class competition since 1987-88, so the team will be keeping a close eye on proceedings down the road.
Derek de Boorder top-scored for the Volts with 78. Michael Bracewell added 62 and left-arm seamer Craig Smith played a nice hand with 42.
Aaron Redmond, in his last match for Otago before he retires, could only manage 17.
In Mt Maunganui, Canterbury is 76 for three in reply to Northern Districts' total of 256 for eight declared, while in Napier in the dead rubber between Central Districts and Wellington, the home side is 28 for one in reply to Wellington's 227.
