The Volts have strung together a series of poor performances this season.
But Thursday’s effort against Wellington at Molyneux Park set a new low.
The Volts were rolled for just 47 — a New Zealand men’s T20 record low score.
The Firebirds took just 4.3 overs to knock off the paltry target, underlining just how good the pitch actually was for batting.
Former Otago all-rounder Nathan Smith took four for five in a masterful display of swing bowling.
Volts coach Dion Ebrahim was left with the unenviable task of explaining what went so horribly wrong.
"We won’t dwell too much on it," he said.
"The thing is it is only round three and it is only our second game of the competition that we’ve played, so it is important that we are able to bounce back and be clear on how we want to play."
They will get that opportunity against the Auckland Aces in Alexandra on Monday.
Seamer Matt Bacon picked up an injury during the embarrassing loss to Wellington and seems an unlikely starter.
The Volts may have to bring up an extra bowler from Dunedin to fill the vacancy, or perhaps it is an opportunity for all-rounder Luke Georgeson to make his T20 debut for the Volts.
He would help stiffen up the batting lineup which failed so miserably.
While the Volts posted an historic low, the performance did not come out of the blue.
They have managed just one win across three formats this summer.
They lost three of their four first-class games.
The other was a draw and they held on desperately by one wicket.
The one-day tournament started well. The Volts posted a 42-run win against Auckland in Invercargill.
Dale Phillips crunched a century.
But Otago followed that up with a seven-wicket loss to the Aces and an 82-run loss to Central Districts. There were a couple of rained-off games as well.
The opening three rounds of the Super Smash have been a write-off.
The game against Canterbury at Hagley Oval was abandoned and there have been two very heavy losses to Wellington.
The Volts dropped opener Tim Robinson three times during his remarkable knock of 139 during their opening-round loss to the Firebirds.
As for the derailment in Alexandra on Thursday, Ebrahim said the effort and preparations were there.
"So the danger is if we harp on about what has already occurred, we might lose sight of what is ahead of us."
