Take the three best players out of any team and there will be problems.
The Otago Sparks have proved no exception.
The team has had to learn to get by without star batsman Suzie Bates. She spends most of the summer across the Ditch playing in the Women's Big Bash League these days.
But when veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Katey Martin and potent spinner Leigh Kasperek are missing as well, the Sparks are about as likely to light up the competition as National leader Simon Bridges is of reaching 10% in the preferred prime minister stakes.
That was evident during the last two one-day games of the season when the Sparks' depth was sorely tested.
Bates, Martin and Kasperek were all away on national duty. Heffernan twins Kate and Georgia and vastly improved batsman Polly Inglis were also unavailable. And import Alice Davidson-Richards had already returned home.
Only the green fruit was still clinging to the vine and they were exposed by a hungry Central Districts team in both games in Palmerston North.
The Sparks were dismissed for 116 and Central romped past the meagre target with nearly 30 overs to spare.
Then on the Sunday, the Hinds posted a colossal total of 339 and won by 247 runs after routing the Sparks for 92.
That was the Sparks' third-heaviest defeat by the number of runs. It perhaps also offered a glimpse into the future.
Bates and Martin are in the twilight of their careers and the replacement players coming through have plenty of improving to do to reach the same level.
That said, there were some highlights. The Sparks started the one-day tournament in reasonable fashion.
They split their series of games against Wellington and Canterbury 1-1.
The six-wicket win against Wellington at the Basin Reserve was achieved without all three White Ferns. Inglis led the way with 83 not out. She is a leading contender for most improved player, one would have thought.
But the back-to-back losses against Auckland in round five and six proved ruinous. The batting was just not good enough in either fixture and the campaign was more or less over at that point.
Kasperek (five for 10) and Martin (96) helped the Sparks win both matches against Northern Districts at Brooklands before the season ended poorly against Central.
The Sparks finished in fourth place - the same position as in the twenty20 competition.
Davidson-Richards shone during her four T20 games for the province. She scored 180 runs at average of 60 and a strike rate of 137.50, while Kasperek was the best of the Otago bowlers with eight wickets at 18.87.
The Sparks started the T20 campaign positively with wins against Central and Northern Districts. But they batted poorly against Canterbury and an early batting collapse against Wellington resulted in a second defeat.
The turning point was perhaps the nine-wicket loss to Canterbury at the University of Otago Oval.
That sounds like a convincing loss. However, the Sparks batted well but followed up by shelving at least six very basic catches.
The best win was probably the 19-run victory against Wellington and it won the six-over lottery against Auckland to complete the campaign.
