Statements : I. No bat is ball. II. No ball is wicket. Inferences : A) No bat is wicket. B) All wickets are bats. Codes

Both statements are universal negatives (E-type): No bat is ball and No ball is wicket. Two E-type premises give no valid conclusion, because the two exclusions tell us nothing about how bats and wickets relate to each other.

• Inference A (No bat is wicket) does not follow. Bat and wicket could overlap in some region outside the ball circle, so the statements do not rule that out.
• Inference B (All wickets are bats) does not follow. Saying that no ball is a wicket does not make every wicket a bat. Nothing links wickets to bats except through balls, and that link is only exclusion.

Core concept: a Venn diagram check. Draw bat and ball as disjoint circles, then ball and wicket as disjoint circles. Bat and wicket may be placed in any relation, so neither inference is forced. This is the standard syllogism test for two negative premises.

This ties into the logical reasoning section of the Prelims, where students are expected to test conclusions with diagrams rather than intuition.

Trap: students see that the two premises are linked by the word ball and assume a chain like bat to ball to wicket, then pick A. A chain works only when at least one premise is affirmative.