A balloon rebounded gently off a pillow yesterday.
It had roughly the same impact Otago imports Darren Stevens and Chris Nash have had on the HRV Cup.
The English professionals are not exactly household names but they were expected to leave some mark on the New Zealand domestic cricket scene.
Both boast reasonable first-class records and were signed to help Otago win matches.
That has not happened.
Instead they have been party to a desperate couple of weeks which have seen Otago slump to five consecutive losses.
The tournament is only at the halfway stage and the Volts have been reduced to just playing for pride.
The responsibility needs to be spread wider than Stevens and Nash.
But they are the hired guns and in more ruthless sports like basketball would probably find themselves on a flight home.
"Certainly they haven't helped us win any games and are disappointed about that," Otago coach Mike Hesson responded when asked if the pair had delivered on their promise.
"But they have made good contributions on and off the field for us."
To be fair, offspinner Nash has bowled quite well, at times.
He has taken five wickets and his economy rate of 7.13 is pretty good, considering the terrible flogging the Otago attack has had to endure.
But with Black Caps offspinner Nathan McCullum back from international duty and talented left-arm spinner Nick Beard in the team, Otago has the spin option well covered.
Stevens has shown glimpses of what he is capable with the bat but at the bowling crease he has been easy pickings.
Neither has really measured up but both will get another opportunity this weekend.
Otago plays Auckland at Colin Maiden Park this afternoon and Northern Districts at Blake Park in Mount Maunganui tomorrow.
Otago has made two forced changes from the side which lost to Canterbury by six wickets on Wednesday night.
Neil Broom has been ruled out with a thumb complaint and Brendon McCullum is being rested ahead of the international series against Pakistan, which gets under way with a twenty/20 match on December 26.
McCullum hurt his back during the recent test series in India and it was decided a break would give him the best possible opportunity of taking a full part in the Pakistan series.
Former Canterbury all-rounder Iain Robertson will replace Broom in the squad, while experienced medium-pacer Warren McSkimming has recovered from a back injury and rejoins the 13.
"We showed a lot more intensity at the top [against Canterbury] which was good, but we lost momentum in the middle. But then Ian Butler came in and played superbly to get us to a reasonable score. So there were some good things and I think four out of the five games we've played we've had a chance of winning but didn't.
"I think we need to improve all round. We're probably 10% off in all departments and in twenty/20 cricket 10% makes a huge difference. Every game we go into we are looking to make those improvements."
While Otago will be without its talisman Brendon McCullum, Auckland welcomes back Black Caps Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins and Kyle Mills.
Auckland has won four of its five matches without the trio, so it will be interesting to see what impact they will have.