It can be a grind, living out of a suitcase and going from one airport to the other and jumping on various forms of transport.
That is the nature of the Super Smash, which began on December 14 for Otago and will end — the regular season anyway — with a game in Christchurch against Canterbury on January 14.
But one thing takes away the monotony of travel and motel: winning. And that is something the Otago Volts have been doing plenty of lately.
The side did a good double at Alexandra last weekend. An exciting last-ball win over the Northern Knights was backed up by a dominant display against the Canterbury Kings on Monday, the side winning by 51 runs.
The win against Canterbury was especially pleasing, as the home side was strong in all areas and never let Canterbury into the match.
Winning creates momentum and that is a huge factor in sport.
Otago sits top of the table as it goes into its seventh game of the competition, against the Central Stags in Napier tonight.
Otago has lost just the one game so far in the Super Smash, though one other game has been abandoned.
That one defeat came against Wellington at the Basin Reserve when Otago looked set for victory before failing to bat sensibly in the final couple of overs.
Key all-rounder Nathan Smith will miss the game with a hip flexor complaint, but it is hoped he will be back for the match on January 6 in Dunedin against Wellington.
Matt Bacon comes in as bowling cover but he is unlikely to play, and the side is set to remain the same as the one that beat Canterbury.
The side has been scoring runs and four of its batsmen are in the top 10 leading run-scorers in the competition.
Neil Broom is the top run-scorer with 238 runs. Just behind him in third place is Nick Kelly with 222. Wellington’s Devon Conway has scored 232 runs.
Hamish Rutherford is the sixth-leading run-scorer with 158 runs and Josh Finnie is 10th with 145 runs.
Otago coach Rob Walter said the side was taking the season game by game. Historically, scoring 22 points on the table gets a side into the playoffs, but Otago was not looking too far ahead.
It just needs to continue to do the basics well in all aspects of the game. Batting partnerships have led to good scores, while the bowlers have been accurate and not bowled much width to teams.
Central is a good side and won the competition last year. It sits in third place and has lost a couple of games it could have won. Playing at a small ground such as Pukekura Park in New Plymouth can turn games into lotteries, and it just went down by two runs to Auckland in its last game out in Taranaki.
George Worker is a danger at the top of the order, while it has quality bowling attack in the likes of Seth Rance, Blair Tickner and spinner Ajaz Patel.
This is the last home game of the season for the Stags. The sides play again in Dunedin on January 11.
Otago Volts v Stags
Napier, 7.10pm, today
Otago Volts: Hamish Rutherford, Neil Broom, Nick Kelly, Dean Foxcroft, Anaru Kitchen, Josh Finnie, Michael Rippon, Max Chu, Jacob Duffy, Michael Rae, Dale Phillips, Travis Muller, Matt Bacon
Central Stags: George Worker, Dane Cleaver, Christian Leopard, Tom Bruce, Josh Clarkson, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Willem Ludick, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Blair Tickner, Ryan Watson, Jayden Lennox, Ben Wheeler
Points table: (pending result of Wellington v Northern last night): Otago 18, Wellington 16, Auckland 12, Central 10, Canterbury 6, Knights 6
