Regardless of what happens on the final day of their match against Wellington at the University Oval today, the Volts will not be ending their long drought in the competition, which stretches back to 1987-88.
Canterbury picked up maximum first innings bonus points against Auckland at Eden Park Outer Oval to move to 99 points.
Otago can also get to 99 points with an outright win against Wellington. But they are well behind on net runs per wicket.
That means Canterbury will claim the trophy regardless of whether they push on to beat Auckland or not.
Otago still has an opportunity to finish with a third consecutive win for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
The Volts are 106 for three and need a further 239 runs to win.
That will take some good batting. But Jamal Todd (39 not out) and Tom Jones (24 not out) are well set and will resume today.
The Volts’ grip on the game slipped on Saturday.
Wellington had posted 156 in their first innings, so they took a small but handy first innings lead.
Nathan Smith starred. The Black Cap steamed in and took a career-best six for 25 in a devastating spell.
The former Otago seamer is a much more deadly operator than when he left Otago in 2021.
He had a lot of help from James Hartshorn, who nabbed three for 50.
There was the odd terrible shot. But, for the most part, it was exceptional bowling.
Wellington opener Jesse Tashkoff took over from there.
The 25-year-old right-hander stoked his third first-class century. It was not perfect. It was streaky to begin with and he needed some luck.
He hovers on the front foot and hits the ball through the offside plenty. The bowlers were always interested.
But they had to wait until he reached 101 for him to make a fatal mistake. He shouldered arms and was bowled by Matt Bacon.
Otago conceded a few too many no-balls. But they stuck to their task and dismissed Wellington for 300, leaving them chasing 345.
Danru Ferns was the pick of the Otago bowlers. The right-armer picked up four for 58.
The Volts approached the chase with purpose. But Hartshorn was on target again.
He removed both openers — Jacob Cumming for 12 and Thorn Parkes for a breezy 26 — and bowled Troy Johnson for a duck.
Otago was 50 for three, but no worries. Todd went on the attack and blazed a series of drives.
Jones cracked a pull shot over square leg for six and pulled another for four.
The pair had added 56 by stumps.
In the other games, Canterbury posted 591 and Auckland are 97 for one in their second innings. They need 214 runs to make Canterbury bat again.
In Hamilton, Central Districts are 283 for eight and lead Northern Districts by 239 runs with a day to play.
