A week ago, Otago was eyeing a place in the Super Smash playoffs.
Now, it could finish last in the competition.
It lost by 40 runs to the Canterbury Kings in Christchurch on Saturday at Hagley Oval, and sits fifth on the ladder. It is just four points ahead of last-placed Canterbury with one round to go.
Central Districts locked up a playoff spot on Friday night with a win over Wellington, and in doing so dashed Otago’s slim hopes of getting into the post-season action.
Otago has got the table-topping Northern Districts side left to play at Bay Oval next Saturday, and it will want to finish on a high.
Otago coach Rob Walter said Canterbury probably got 15 runs too many in its bat on Saturday.
"Looking at it, it was probably a 150 to 160-run wicket. But they hit some good shots down the ground from some not-terrible bowling," he said.
Otago then lost the game with the bat as it made a poor start in chasing Canterbury’s far-from-daunting total of 172.
The visiting team’s top four batsmen were back in the pavilion with not even five overs bowled and just 20 runs on the board.
"Whenever something like that happens and you only get 20-odd in the power play, then you are up against it.
"We just wanted to hang in there and stay in the game as deep as we could."
Anaru Kitchen and Ben Cox tried to turn the innings around. Kitchen went for 22 when the score was just 62 after 10 overs.
Cox kept trying and got through to 49 before he was out in the 19th over. Otago lost its last three wickets in four balls as it went down guns blazing.
Tall fast bowler Kyle Jamieson picked up four wickets for Canterbury, while Ed Nuttall got a couple of key wickets at the top of the Otago innings.
"When you are chasing 170 and you lose four wickets straight away you are staring at 10 an over for the rest of the innings, which is tough."
Walter said Cox had batted well and showed what he was capable of.
Canterbury has started well when it batted, and opener Chad Bowes scored a solid 40 at the top of the order, which helped set up the charge at the end.
Coming into the Otago side, spinner Michael Rippon bowled tidily and went at just five runs an over, while picking up the wicket of Canterbury skipper Cole McConchie.
Walter said Rippon bowled well and deserved his tidy figures. He said the side wanted to beat Canterbury to have a clean sweep in limited overs games, so it was disappointing to lose.
Along with Central making the playoffs, Northern Knights and Auckland have also made the top three.
Northern sits four points ahead of Auckland and knows if it can beat Otago next Saturday night then it is automatically into the final.
The second and third placegetters meet on February 15, with the final to be played two days later.
