But no-one escapes the grip of failure. Otago discovered that last season, over and over again. Its twenty/20 campaign was an unmitigated disaster.
The Volts lost their opening five games, had the next four games ruined by poor weather and added an emphasis to a miserable season with a three-wicket loss to Wellington.
But this is a new season and Otago has a new captain (Brendon McCullum) and a new coach (Vaughn Johnson).
The Volts open their campaign against Central Districts at the University Oval tomorrow and plan to "hit the ground running", Johnson said.
"I don't really want to think about last year," he said.
"Last year was a bit of a nightmare in terms of the weather and the early performances. But this is game one of a 10-game campaign and we have to look to start well."
Otago expects to do well and a quick examination of its line-up reveals no reason why the Volts can not return to the winner's circle.
McCullum missed out on the New Zealand captaincy and will be determined to show his leadership abilities.
He is one of the most dangerous twenty/20 batsman in world cricket and has a talented supporting cast.
First-class and one-day captain Aaron Redmond was Otago's best-performed twenty/20 batsman last season with 249 runs at an average of 41.50.
The 32-year-old is one of the few players who has scored a century in the abbreviated format.
Black Caps all-rounder Nathan McCullum's skill set is perfectly suited to twenty/20. In 32 games for Otago he has scored 637 runs at a strike rate of 151.30 and taken 33 wickets at the miserly economy rate of 7.46.
Former England international Dimitri Mascarenhas has returned for another stint with Otago. He was a popular member of the team which won the 2008-09 tournament.
Craig Cumming, Neil Broom and Ian Butler have also played cricket for New Zealand, taking Otago's total to seven past or present internationals.
It is an experienced squad and Johnson has had to make some tough decisions.
All-rounder Sam Wells has been in good touch with the bat this summer but he makes room for aggressive left-hander Hamish Rutherford.
Fast bowler James McMillan has also missed the cut with Mascarenhas joining the side.
Central Districts was the beaten finalist last season and shapes as one of the sides to beat again.
The team is stacked with talent, including Black Caps captain Ross Taylor and hard-hitting all-rounders Jacob Oram and Graham Napier.
Fresh from his heroics in the test win against Australia, Doug Bracewell will be a key player in a bowling line-up which contains promising youngster Adam Milne and experienced veteran Michael Mason.
All-rounder Kieran Noema-Barnett will have good memories of his game against Otago in Invercargill last season. He swatted seven sixes in his undefeated innings of 57 from 25 deliveries.
The forecast for Dunedin tomorrow is for long fine spells with southerlies dying out.
In other matches, Auckland plays Wellington at Colin Maiden Park and Canterbury hosts Northern Districts.
Otago v Central
- University Oval, tomorrow, 2pm
Otago: Brendon McCullum (captain), Aaron Redmond, Hamish Rutherford, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Craig Cumming, Nathan McCullum, Jimmy Neesham, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Derek de Boorder, Ian Butler, Nick Beard, Neil Wagner.
Central Districts: Jamie How (captain), Doug Bracewell, Peter Ingram, Michael Mason, Adam Milne, Graham Napier, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Tarun Nethula, Jacob Oram, Mathew Sinclair, Ross Taylor, Kruger van Wyk.
Line-ups in twenty/20 competition
OTAGO
• Last year: Last.
• Key players: The McCullum brothers, Brendon and Nathan, are explosive batsmen and athletic in the field. Nathan is a very handy offspinner as well.
• Import: Former England international Dimitri Mascarenhas.
Otago's draw
• December 18 v Central Districts, Dunedin
• December 27 v Canterbury, Timaru
• December 29 v Northern Districts, Dunedin
• December 31 v Wellington, Queenstown
• January 2 v Central Districts, Nelson
• January 6 v Auckland, Auckland
• January 8 v Wellington, Wellington
• January 13 v Canterbury, Dunedin
• January 15 v Auckland, Dunedin
• January 19 v Northern Districts, Hamilton
Other teams. -
NORTHERN DISTRICTS
• Last year: Fourth.
• Key players: Underrated batsman Brad Wilson and wicketkeeper-batsman Peter McGlashan.
• Import: Former Black Cap Hamish Marshall.
AUCKLAND
• Last year: Champion.
• Key players: All-rounder Colin de Grandhomme can hit a long ball, and batsman Brad Cachopa is a rising star.
• Imports: Former Black Caps all-rounder Andre Adams and former Pakistan international Azhar Mahmood.
CENTRAL DISTRICTS
• Last year: Runner-up.
• Key players: Destructive Black Caps duo Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram.
• Import: Big-hitting all-rounder Graham Napier.
WELLINGTON
• Last year: Fifth.
• Key players: All-rounder James Franklin is in good touch, and Black Cap batsman Jesse Ryder can punish the bowling.
• Imports: Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor.
CANTERBURY
• Last year: Third.
• Key players: All-rounder Rob Nicol and Black Caps batsman Dean Brownlie.
• Imports: Former Pakistan international Yasir Arafat and Australian Mitchell Claydon.
