Sydney Thunder skipper Shane Watson shrugs his shoulders when asked about his side's Big Bash League season, which has been plagued by misfortune.
"It's just the reality of cricket and the reality of life," a philosophical Watson said.
The Thunder's season came to an end at the hands of cross-town rivals the Sydney Sixers in a nine-wicket derby loss at the SCG on Saturday.
While still a mathematical chance of making the finals, they would require a minor miracle to make it.
The Thunder will only advance if they win their last game against the Hobart Hurricanes, the Melbourne Stars lose their last three and Adelaide pick up only one win from their remaining two fixtures.
But things could have been very different were it not for two fateful clashes against the Brisbane Heat earlier in the year.
Back in early January the Thunder were set an imposing 187 for victory by the Heat, however the game was called off just five overs into their run chase because of rain, and Brisbane notched a 15-run win under the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Then later that month the return clash was abandoned, and the points split, after a light tower at the Gabba failed, despite the fact the Thunder were well on top at the time.
It has left many questioning what could have been, but Watson refuses to rue his side's bad luck.
"There's been a couple of situations that have gone against us and that's the reality of cricket, that's the reality of a tournament," Watson said.
"If you get on the right side of a few of those results then it means you get closer to be able to qualify.
"Those are two games (against the Heat) could have gone a bit differently. That's the luck of the draw and you've got to ride it. I'm certainly not cursing it."
With their season effectively over, it leaves the Sixers to carry the torch for Sydney into the semi-finals.
Watson said the Thunder's cross-town rivals were the real deal and had the side to add a second BBL trophy to their cabinet.
They've got a very well-balanced attack," he said.
"The way they're bowling, Steve O'Keefe is bowling beautifully and has all tournament. Ben Dwarshuis is a strike bowler, Tom Curran has done a great job with bat and ball and provided a lot of variety to their attack.
"With the strike power and experience they've got, there's no reason why they can't win it."
