But it is not because of a code change to the oval ball.
Four players in the Otago side - Neil Broom, Nick Beard, Ian Butler, and Hamish Rutherford - are set to join the New Zealand XI for twenty/20 matches against England early next week.
New Zealand Cricket rules allow for players to be substituted in domestic matches when they go on international duty. So, when those four leave, another four players will come into the side.
That group is made up of Neil Wagner, Darren Broom, James McMillan and Sam Blakely. Wagner is expected to play in the last two days of the game in Queenstown, before joining the national side for the second T20 game in Whangarei.
The matches in Whangarei are to be played on February 4 and February 6.
Blakely, the son of former Otago opening batsman Geoff Blakely, is a promising left-arm pace bowler. He will make his debut for Otago if he takes the field.
Pace bowler James Fuller, who took 10 wickets against Wellington last week, has made himself unavailable for this match and will not be sighted for Otago for the rest of the season.
He was only going to play in the T20 domestic competition, but was persuaded to play in the longer version of the game.
Otago will be keen to take maximum points in the match. It sits second on the table, 15 points behind Central Districts with three rounds left.
Plunket Shield
Queenstown, starts today
Otago: Derek de Boorder (captain), Nick Beard, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Mark Craig, Jacob Duffy, Aaron Redmond, Iain Robertson, Hamish Rutherford, Blair Soper, Sam Wells. Replacements: Neil Wagner, Darren Broom, James McMillan, Sam Blakely.
Northern Districts: Brad Wilson (captain), Brent Arnel, James Baker, Jono Boult, Daniel Flynn, Tony Goodin, James Marshall, Daryl Mitchell, Ish Sodhi, Anurag Verma, Adam Wheater, Joseph Yovich.
