If losing is a habit then it appears to be catching on.
The Otago Volts have made an art form out of losing twenty/20 matches this summer and their poor form seems to be spreading to the Otago Sparks' camp.
The Sparks had won two of their three twenty/20 fixtures this season and were on track to post a third win until a dramatic batting collapse gave Auckland a three-run win at Melville Park yesterday.
Having dismissed the home side for a paltry 89, Otago made a bright start through experienced all-rounder Sarah Tsukigawa and Suzie Bates.
The pair added 42 and had seemingly put their side on path to a comprehensive victory but fate intervened, restricting Otago to 86 for nine.
A combination of a slow pitch, some useful bowling and poor decision-making conspired against the Sparks, coach Nathan King said.
''It was a bit of a mixture,'' King explained when asked about his side's capitulation.
''There were a couple of dismissals which we knew were [mistakes].
But I guess when you play with that intent you can go slightly overboard.
''To be fair, we were hoping to restrict Auckland to a score of around 110, so we were happy chasing 90.
''The wicket was very low and slow and variable as well. And the outfield was pretty long and the boundary size was long. It was tough going but in the end, it was the same for both teams.
''Once you got in you really needed to cash in and not have wickets falling and new batsmen coming in.''
Tsukigawa thumped three fours in a run-a-ball 25 on a day when only five boundaries were scored.
But when she offered a catch off the bowling of Rosie Cox, the innings fell away at an alarming rate.
Bates (14) was ran out an over later and, when the reliable Katey Martin
was caught on three, suddenly the modest target seemed a little more distant.
Former White Fern right-arm offspinner Paula Gruber took the game away from Otago with a damaging four-over spell, taking three for eight, including the wicket of classy all-rounder Natasha Miles.
Right-arm medium-pace bowler Megan Tremaine also bowled tightly, taking two for 18 from four and Cox took one for 19.
Earlier, Tsukigawa ripped through Auckland's middle order with three wickets from four deliveries.
Just a day after playing her 100th one-day game for the province, the medium pacer captured the wicket of the dangerous Victoria Lind (13) when she offered a catch, trapped Maddy Green leg before wicket without scoring and lured Cox out of her crease.
Martin completed the dismissal with a stumping.
While Otago bowled well at times, it also let itself down. The team conceded 16 extras, including 10 wides.
Extras was actually the highest scorer for Auckland, with Samantha Curtis the next best with 15 runs.
