I recently had the privilege of playing for the Commonwealth, in a game of cricket here in Mauritius. The match was interrupted by rain on several occasions and during one of them, I found myself talking to a member of the crowd who seemed a little confused.

?Excuse me?, he said, ?I?m not entirely sure what?s happening?. I sympathised with his confusion and commented that cricket is a rather puzzling sport if the basics have not been explained to you first. ?Oh,? he said, ?several people have tried explaining the game to me this afternoon, but I still don?t know what?s happening.? I was intrigued; I thought that he must have some understanding of the game. ?What exactly do you know?? I asked.

?Well, what I have been told is that? one team bowls at the other team but only one person bowls at one of two people batting. When all the people batting are out the other team is in. The two people from the batting team are on the field but the other team are all in the field, fielding. The person bowling might bowl a bouncer, a wide, a beamer, or a yorker, but it might also be a no ball. Each team has the same number of overs and when these are over, the game is over. ..?

My first reaction to this seemingly incomprehensible torrent of information was to be extremely impressed by the man?s memory! However, it was obvious that he had been a victim of an all too common communicative error. Whether the ?several people? who had previously attempted to explain the rudiments of the game to this poor chap had been under the impression that he was already something of an aficionado was unclear. What was clear was that they had failed to communicate effectively in several ways.

They had failed to ascertain his prior knowledge concerning the subject. They had also failed to structure their communication effectively, starting with the basics and gradually ?building? towards a more detailed explanation. And, most importantly, they had failed to recognise the distinction between jargon and ?every day? language.

As the rain began to clear and my team mates started running back onto the field I turned to the man and, placing my hand on his shoulder, said ?Yep, it?s a confusing game alright!? For further information concerning effective communication (and possibly the rules of cricket) contact the British Council in Rose Hill and find out about our Business English and Advanced Communication courses.

Following a valiant display by both teams the magnificent Indian team emerged victorious. The game was greatly enjoyed by all those involved, including, so I am reliably informed, my mystified friend.