I'm often accused of living in the past - maybe it's my 80's haircut - and I notice players doing the same thing at cricket matches. Even though it's not as far back as the 80's.

How does this mistake appear?

Imagine a game where you are batting. Your partner decides to go over the top, and the shot is a success. The ball sails over mid off for a one bounce four. You touch gloves and say "great shot, you can go all the way here."

Mid off gets pushed back to the boundary.

What often happens next is facepalm time: Instead of pushing the ball up for an easy single, your partner lets the excitement force another big shot. It's hit just as cleanly and this time the ball nestles in the hands of deep mid off.

That's living in the past in a way that can damage your batting average.

Time machine captaincy

This malaise also gets to captains.

This happens where there is a big stand and the match situation favours the batting side. Say, for example the score is 119-3 after 30 overs. The team are chasing 212, and with just 94 needed the game is under control. The field is defensive to try and stem the flow of runs. So far the captain is doing all right.

Now imagine that 2 wickets fall in an over. Both established batsmen are replaced by nervous replacements.

The field stays exactly the same.

The bowlers have done well so they are unchanged.

Rather than trying to squeeze new batsmen, the captain lets easy runs away in the fear the new chaps will continue where the old ones left off. They won't. Not unless you let them by giving away easy singles.

Both these are common enough that I see them every season a few times. I'm sure there are a few more. It's great when my team benefits, but not so hot when we make the error.

Fortunately, the answer is simple: Stay in the present.

In any game situation, it's important to be right in the moment. Be sure that the field, bowler and tactic is the best one by checking in with yourself (or have a trusted advisor talk you down with an honest word).

If you are batting, play for the field that is set. By all means try and manipulate the field with clever play. By all means take a calculated risk if the situation calls for it. Neither of those provisos are the same as letting a middles shot go to your head and holing out.

Think about the game you are in now, not the game you were in even two overs in the past. It's amazing how fast the game moves considering how long it lasts.