The men’s list A tournament includes a playoff game which is contested between the No 2- and No 3-ranked sides.
The winner goes on to play the top qualifier in the final.
But there is no second chance in the women’s competition. The top two sides progress to a straight final.
Wellington (30 points) has already cemented a spot in the final, and Canterbury (22 points) is in the box seat to join the Blaze.
The prospects of Central Districts (15 points), Auckland (15 points), Northern Districts (12 points) and Otago (12 points) slipping past Canterbury to join Wellington in the final remain on life support.
"We need two bonus points wins [to have a chance] and we’ll just see how things go," Cumming said.
"The table does not always show where you are as a cricket team. If we had a 2v3 playoff game, I think everyone would be in the mix.
"We’ve challenged why in the men’s game there is a 2v3 game and why in the women’s game there wasn’t. Can you imagine how exciting this final round would be if there was an elimination final?
"As we’ve seen many times, you can often qualify third and still go on to win a title.
"That’s a bit of a shame."
Accuracy will be the buzzword for the Otago Sparks this weekend as they look to upset Canterbury in back-to-back games in Queenstown.
They have been batting quite well, but their challenge will be to lift their bowling effort.
They conceded more than 50 wides during the back-to-back losses to Auckland in Dunedin last week.
Molly Loe was a late scratching last weekend, but her return should help the Sparks trim the amount of extras.
Batter Paige Loggenberg also returns to the side. She has been unavailable for most of the season due to commitments with the New Zealand development team and under-19 teams.
Cumming felt there were a lot of positives despite Otago’s lowly position in the standings.
"I’m delighted with the way we are batting. I think we are changing the way the game is being played and our top order were outstanding [against Auckland].
"There was a huge amount of confidence gained from that, but the key this weekend is to get better with our bowling plans and be more disciplined.
"No excuses — there were too many wides and the difference between the two teams was probably that.
"The talk has been around being nice and simple around our bowling plans and making sure we execute. If we can do that, we will give ourselves a better chance."
Loe will partner Emma Black with the new ball and Gemma Adams will drop back to bowling first change.
"Molly has shown throughout her career she bowls well with the new ball and she is very disciplined with her line and length, and she does not bowl a lot of bad balls."
Canterbury will lean on class batting duo Kate Anderson (251 runs at 50.20) and Amy Satterthwaite (199 at 99.50) to stitch the innings together, while Gabby Sullivan is the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets at an average of just 12.
Hallyburton Johnstone Shield
Queenstown, 10.30am
Otago: Bella James, Olivia Gain, Polly Inglis, Kate Ebrahim, Caitlin Blakely, Felicity Leydon-Davis, Paige Loggenberg, Emma Black, Sophie Oldershaw, Gemma Adams, Molly Loe, Chloe Deerness, Saffron Wilson.
Canterbury: Laura Hughes, Abigale Gerken, Kate Anderson, Amy Satterthwaite, Nat Cox, Jacinta Savage, Missy Banks, Gabby Sullivan, Jess Simmons, Sarah Asmussen, Abigail Hotton, Jodie Dean, Izzy Sharp.
