It is lukewarm and out of fizz.
But if you give it a shake there just might be some life left in it yet.
The Volts are midway through the round-robin and prop up a place towards the bottom of the competition table.
They have played some truly rancid cricket. Need we remind fans they were bowled out for a record low of 47 by Wellington in Alexandra on December 28.
That would have to rank as their worst performance in any format of the game since they were bowled out for 54 in a first-class game by Auckland at Eden Park Outer Oval in October, 2020.
But they have also shown glimpses of the side which reached the playoffs last season.
They bounced back from the horror show against Wellington to beat the Auckland Aces five days later. That showed some bottle.
Veteran opener Hamish Rutherford is hobbling about on dodgy hips but he can still swing a bat. He clobbered a half century in his last outing and remains a dangerous player.
Max Chu and Dale Phillips combined to thrashed 25 off the last over of the Volts innings during the four-wicket loss to Canterbury earlier this week.
That will have given that pair confidence they can finish an innings.
Dale Phillips also has to be one of the best fielders in the competition. His brother Glenn Phillips can lay a solid claim to the crown as well.
But overall the Volts’ fielding has been poor. They put down Wellington’s Tim Robinson three times in the opening game and he went on to smash 139 from 64 deliveries.
The bowling has mostly been toothless as well.
They have been down a seamer when Jacob Duffy has been on international duty and Matt Bacon’s side strain has ruled him out for the next game and probably a few more after that.
Travis Muller has picked up six wickets but he also got pummelled for 22 in one painful over.
Andrew Hazeldine improved on that effort by a couple of runs in a nightmare nine-ball over against Canterbury.
Arguably it is time for a good shakeup but the Volts have resisted making any changes to the 12.
They play a talent-laden Northern Districts side in Hamilton tonight and it shapes as a critical game.
The top ranked side at the end of the round-robin will progress straight through to the final, while the second and third-placed team will play in the elimination game for the right to join them in the final.
The Volts have some ground to make up on the competition ladder and also with the fans.
Super Smash
Hamilton, 5.30pm
Otago: Hamish Rutherford, Jake Gibson, Dean Foxcroft (captain) Glenn Phillips, Llew Johnson, Max Chu, Dale Phillips, Ben Lockrose, Andrew Hazeldine, Jacob Duffy, Travis Muller, Ollie White.
Northern Districts: Tim Seifert, Katene Clarke, Jeet Raval (captain), Joe Carter, Henry Cooper, Brett Hampton, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Tim Pringle, Neil Wagner, Kristian Clarke.
