"Get your excuses in early" - the Combination Game

Location: Nagpur, India

Date: 17th December 2012

Event: Press Conference

Your identity: Alastair Cook, England Captain

Mission: To convince the world's sports press and yourself that the 4-0 drubbing your Test team has just received was not really so bad.

Your options (see list): You have a set of 9 cards, from which you must select three, and arrange them in the most plausible fashion to present a Positive Version of Events (PVE) resounding enough to convince your listeners and readers worldwide. NOTE: You are also permitted ONE joker of your own construction, to be placed anywhere you like in your PVE.


One example follows. Have fun playing the game!

Example:

"Look, we're not making any excuses, but the fact is clearly we are a young and inexperienced side - we will learn from this. You have to give credit to what is a really outstanding Indian team, as well - MS Dhoni's lucky to have such an array of seam options available. In the long run though, we will be stronger for this part of our learning curve. Andy?"

Wow Pete, I think you've baffled us a bit.

"We're shit against spin, they aren't."

That's a different game.

"Take the negatives."

You're a different game. You are.