Smith strained his hip flexor late last month and underwent a fitness test yesterday.
He did not look to be moving with his usual freedom and has been ruled out.
That means the Volts, who are in second place with four wins from six completed games, have named an unchanged squad of 13.
Travis Muller has played in Smith’s absence, which has meant reshuffling the line-up.
Muller is one of three qualifying players in the squad and only two can play. South African-born all-rounder Dean Foxcroft has been the player to miss out, but he may come back into contention.
The pitch at the University of Otago Oval is likely to be on the slower side and Foxcroft’s off spin may be of more value than Muller’s medium pace seamers.
The other option would to be to play Matt Bacon ahead of Muller so Foxcroft can slot back into the line-up.
He adds considerable batting strength and, while Otago’s top order has been going well, the tail is a lot longer when Foxcroft is out of the side.
Wellington has also named an unchanged side. The Firebirds lead the competition standings with five wins from seven games.
They have one of the stronger bowling line-ups in the tournament. Hamish Bennett and Ollie Newton will present a big challenge for Otago’s in-form top order. Bennett is a wily and experienced campaigner, while Newton has 14 wickets at an average of 14.78.
All-rounder Jimmy Neesham took two wickets in the final over to help secure Wellington’s one-run win when the sides played at the Basin Reserve last month, and Devon Conway is the best domestic batsman in the country and shapes as a big wicket for the Volts.
• Auckland kept its Super Smash playoffs prospects alive with a four-wicket win against Central Districts at Eden Park Outer Oval on Saturday. The win lifted the Aces into third place.
• Canterbury beat Northern Districts by seven wickets yesterday in a Super Smash game at Hagley Oval. Canterbury batsman Leo Carter became just the fourth T20 batsman ever to hit six sixes in an over off the bowling of left-arm spinner Anton Devcich, finishing 70 not out off 29 balls as his side made 222 for three to complete the highest-ever successful domestic T20 chase in New Zealand.
• Otago has drawn its opening game at the national under-17 tournament in Lincoln. Northern Districts posted 343 and 222 for three in its second innings. Otago batted just once and declared at 438 for nine. Jacob Cumming made 118 and Jacob Murray scored 116.
Otago v Wellington
Dunedin, today, 4pm
Otago: Neil Broom, Hamish Rutherford, Nick Kelly, Anaru Kitchen, Josh Finnie, Dale Phillips, Michael Rippon, Jacob Duffy (captain), Max Chu, Travis Muller, Michael Rae, Matthew Bacon, Dean Foxcroft.
Wellington: Devon Conway, Michael Pollard, Rachin Ravindra, Jimmy Neesham, Michael Bracewell (captain), Fraser Colson, Jamie Gibson, Malcolm Nofal, Logan van Beek, Ollie Newton, Hamish Bennett, Iain McPeake, Peter Younghusband.
