Otago coach Dimitri Mascarenhas had three words to describe his side's poor performance in the preliminary final against Central Districts in New Plymouth yesterday - ''Not good enough''.
Chasing a modest target of 253, the Volts star studded line up slumped to 16 for three and then 113 for six.
Jesse Ryder and Aaron Redmond offered the Volts camp some hope with a stand of 79 for the third wicket, and Jimmy Neesham (38) and Mark Craig (44 not out) put on 58 for the seventh wicket.
But a rejigged Central Districts outfit, missing experienced opener Jamie How and dangerous all rounder Kieran Noema Barnett, kept chipping out wickets and eventually dismissed the Volts for 203 to win by 49 runs.
Central will play Auckland in the final at Colin Maiden Park on Sunday and Otago will have to settle for watching it on television.
Mascarenhas was not quite sure who to blame first.
''We probably gave them too many runs,'' he said.
''We didn't bowl very well in this game. We should have kept them to about 200 I reckon. And then the batting was just poor.
''It was terrible batting the whole way through. We lost early wickets but we did get a partnership but people just kept getting out.''
Otago actually started the match well, reducing the home team to 38 for three. But Kruger van Wyk and Dane Cleaver managed to stem the slide with a partnership of 63 for the fourth wicket.
Cleaver took the attack to Otago with 41 from 39 deliveries, while van Wyk played the anchor role and tried to steer his side out of trouble yet again.
Cleaver whacked six fours and a six during his 49 minute stay at the crease but was out stumped looking to get after the bowling of test spinner Craig.
When van Wyk was bowled by Bradley Scott shortly after for 36, Otago would have felt it was through the best of the home side's batting order.
But Taranaki captain Tom Bruce played a gem of an innings on debut. Late last year he whacked 174 off 123 balls during a Hawke Cup game and he reproduced that form at the top level with a wonderful innings of 88 from 65 deliveries.
He nicked out to a very wide delivery from Jacob Duffy but not before he had dispatched six sixes and five fours.
He also combined with Doug Bracewell in an invaluable partnership of 102 for the sixth wicket which helped drag Central through to a defendable total.
Bracewell (45) was just starting to cut loose when he holed out, and Bruce's departure really put the brakes on the recovery.
But Mascarenhas felt his side let itself down while the pair were batting.
''We bowled poorly to the middle order. We let them get away. We didn't hit our length.''
Duffy was perhaps the pick with three for 44 and Neil Wagner bowled well at the top of the innings with two for 34.
Otago's reply ran into a Bracewell shaped road bump. The test seamer nicked out Sam Wells and then found the leading edge of Hamish Rutherford's bat.
Doug's cousin, Michael Bracewell, was next out. He was caught and bowled by Bevan Small first ball.
Ryder pounded a six and Redmond found the boundary to ease some nerves in the dressing room. But just as the partnership was threatening to take the game away from Central, Andrew Mathieson secured a double breakthrough.
He had Ryder caught for a hard hit 47 from 37 and then Redmond (32) got an edge. Neesham's wicket and the needless run out of Wagner proved terminal for the Volts' prospects.
