Otago will need to re-evaluate its bowling plans ahead of its game with Canterbury at Hagley Oval later this week.
The Volts suffered a four wicket loss to Central Districts at Yarrow Stadium on Saturday night.
Top order batsman and left arm spinner George Worker took five for 10 and bashed 42 runs from 25 deliveries to help set up the win for Central.
Otago stumbled during the middle part of its innings when Worker was bowling, but openers Neil Broom and Anaru Kitchen (29) combined in a first wicket stand of 58.
Broom was starved of the strike for a period but dragged his side through to a defendable total of 141 for eight with an undefeated 70 from 49 balls.
The Volts bowled well in patches but did not use their best bowler, Neil Wagner, as well as they could.
Wagner, who has been called into the Black Caps test squad, took a wicket during the first over of Central's reply but was not required to bowl again until the penultimate over. By then the game was all but over.
Volts coach Nathan King defended the decision to leave Wagner out of attack for so long.
''I did not have any problems with the way he [the captain Nathan McCullum] managed the attack,'' King said.
''We had lots of options and when you have a lot of options there are one or two bowlers that will only bowl a couple of overs. And we wanted to utilise spin as much as possible.''
The wicket was a drop in and very much on the low and slow side, so it should have suited Otago's three slow bowlers.
Off spinner Josh Finnie got swatted out of the attack after one over. Part timer Anaru Kitchen got through three overs and McCullum was the pick of the trio with two for 19 from four overs.
But as a unit they were not as effective as Worker and Marty Kain.
Worker's stint at the bowling crease proved decisive.
''That period from 10 to 16 overs, we really let ourselves down and that was the difference in the end.
''[Worker] did bowl really well and the reality is we did struggle to adjust to his bowling and find a way to score against him. He took wickets and we did not look like scoring runs against him.''
King felt the Volts were ''10 to 20 runs short of what we would have liked''.
''It was still a competitive total and we took the game reasonably deep. But more times that not you are probably going to lose when you put that amount of runs on the board.''
With Wagner heading to Australia as cover for Tim Southee, Otago will have to find a replacement. Michael Rae shapes as the most likely substitute but Warren Barnes might get the new ball. He has been impressive in his first two games for the Volts.
But next time Otago gets on a slow wicket, it might have to look at including Carisbrook Dunedin leg spinner Rhys Phillips in the starting XI.
He carried the drinks in New Plymouth and would have been very handy at Yarrow Stadium where there was quite a bit of turn.
