Welcome to the slow lane.
If you believe the hype, twenty/20 has ushered in a new era - one where fast bowling is a dying art and spin is king.
There is plenty of evidence to support this heresy, too. Take the HRV Cup for example. As of Wednesday, seven of the 10 most economical bowlers were slow bowlers. Kane Williamson topped the list, conceding a measly 4.75 runs an over. The always-frugal Daniel Vettori was in second place, having coughed up 5.81 runs an over.
Otago's Dimitri Mascarenhas was the highest-ranked seamer but he is hardly express.
Neither is Jacob Oram, who was in ninth place. Only Canterbury's Mitchell Claydon (seventh) can claim to be quick.
Given how well slow bowlers are performing, it is surprising teams do not stack their side with dibbly-dobblers and leave the quicks on the sideline.
But Otago speedster James McMillan is not buying it, even if he does roll his fingers across the seam or deliver the ball out of the back of the hand to take the pace off every now and then.
It is in his blood to bowl quickly and the 33-year-old is not ready to slow down yet.
"There is always a place for the fast bowler," McMillan said.
"The way the wickets are here in New Zealand they are suited to the slow bowlers. But when the quicks get it right, you can win games for your team. I don't think we're gone at all."
A few years ago, though, McMillan's career appeared to be winding down. The awkward act of bowling quickly had exacted a huge toll on his body.
Sidelined with a long list of different injuries, McMillan made the ultimate compromise and shortened his run-up from about 30m to 12 paces.
As it turns out, he could have made the cut a lot earlier. He does all the work at the crease and generates most of his pace through a side-on action rather than the momentum a run-up provides.
He is lean but broad-chested and one of the few bowlers around the country capable of bowling at 140kmh-plus.
In the four-day game, that pace is a real asset. Teams have to take 20 wickets to win a match and the seamers are still king. But a bit of extra pace is not always helpful in twenty/20. If you get it slightly wrong you just disappear to the boundary a lot more quickly.
The margin of error is so small. A tad wide of leg stump and the delivery will have to be bowled again. The bowler gets just one bouncer and is basically forced to bowl at a small area from leg stump to about 1m wide of off-stump.
There is no insurance plan, either, with fielding restrictions further hamstringing the bowlers. To make matters worse, the boundary rope seems to creep further in each year.
"It is tough [with all the restrictions]. But it almost makes you a better bowler, really. You know if you miss your mark you are going to go.
"You have to be on the money and you can't do enough training for yorkers.
"But the fundamentals are still the same. You've got to be able to bowl a length ball, which has to be hard and heavy. Then you've got to be able to go straight to a yorker and you've got to be able to take the pace off the ball."
McMillan is unavailable for today's must-win game against Canterbury at the University Oval and will also miss Sunday's game against Auckland.
Volts v Wizards
University Oval, Dunedin, 5pm today
Otago: Brendon McCullum (captain), Aaron Redmond, Neil Broom, Craig Cumming, Nathan McCullum, Jimmy Neesham, Derek de Boorder, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Neil Wagner, Nick Beard, Craig Smith, Hamish Rutherford, Darren Broom.
Canterbury: Peter Fulton, George Worker, Rob Nicol, Shanan Stewart, Tom Latham, Brendon Diamanti, Andrew Ellis, Todd Astle, Logan van Beek, Matt Henry, Ryan McCone, Mitchell Claydon.
