It comes as a result of the most notable change to the New Zealand domestic cricket draws released yesterday.
Teams will still play each other twice in the men’s Ford Trophy one-day competition.
But, rather than the home and away format of previous years, the competition will utilise double-headers over three days.
Teams will host their opposition in two matches at the same location, with a day in between.
The Volts host Northern Districts in Dunedin on December 13 and December 15, as well as Canterbury in Queenstown on February 19 and February 21.
Their other six games will be played in away double-headers.
It is a similar format to what has been used for the women’s Hallyburton Johnstone Shield in which teams play two games in consecutive days.
That structure has been maintained for this year for that competition.
The Otago Sparks have spread their three home weekends around the region as well.
Oamaru hosts Canterbury on November 21 and November 22, Invercargill hosts Auckland on December 5 and December 6, while Dunedin hosts Central Districts on December 19 and December 20.
The four-day Plunket Shield retains the same format as in previous seasons — the opening four rounds being played early in the season and the final four later.
It begins on October 19, although Otago does not start until a day later in Auckland.
It plays its first three games away, before hosting Canterbury in Alexandra on November 14-17.
That means it gets three consecutive home games to finish the season through March and early April.
The competitions will all be adopting new playing conditions, already in place around the world, to mitigate the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak.
"This means New Zealand domestic players will not be permitted to use saliva to shine the ball, and umpires will no longer hold the players’ caps or other items of clothing,” New Zealand Cricket head of cricket Operations Richard Brewer said.
"The new rules also allow for the replacement of players displaying symptoms of Covid-19 during a match, with the option for the player to return to the game following a negative result.
Otago season schedule
Plunket Shield
Oct 20-23: Auckland, Auckland
Oct 28-31: Northern Districts, Mt Maunganui
Nov 5-8: Wellington, Wellington
Nov 14-17: Canterbury, Alexandra
Mar 11-14: Canterbury, Rangiora
Mar 18-21: Auckland, Invercargill
Mar 26-29: Central Districts, Dunedin
Apr 3-06: ND, Dunedin
Ford Trophy
Nov 29-Dec 1: CD, New Plymouth
Dec 6-8: Auckland, Auckland
Dec 13-15: ND, Dunedin
Feb 19-21: Canterbury, Queenstown
Feb 26-28: Wellington, Wellington
Hallyburton Johnstone Shield
Nov 21-22: Canterbury, Oamaru
Dec 5-6: Auckland, Invercargill
Dec 19-20: CD, Dunedin
Feb 20-21: ND, Hamilton
Mar 13-14: Wellington, Wellington
