In the first Ashes Test of 2015, England brought in another weird fielding position: the silly slip.

Joe Root, helmet-clad, took a position at third slip that was far too close for comfort. It was reasonable considering the slow pitch and the low chance of an edge carrying to orthodox third slip. Successful or not, it is another in the long line of "funky" fielding positions that span back to the 1970s (at least).

Yet, club and school cricket remains staunchly formulaic. Is there something we can learn from the pros here?

When done with care, setting a funky fielder or two has a powerful effect. There need to be a solid grounding in common sense, but even when the idea is crazy, the fact you have had such audacity is enough to but the batsman off his rhythm.

So next time you are setting a ring field, take a moment to think if you can apply anything a little more funky. Here are a few ideas.

• Catchers in front of the wicket instead of in the slips. this works well on slow pitches.
• A short leg, even when it's not a fast and bouncy pitch. It's a pressure position for the batsman.
• a deep leg side field and short bowling.
• Right arm round, bowling at the off side wide line and packing the off side.
• A boundary runner lurking 5-10 yards in. This is against traditional coaching but works well on long boundaries, especially to batsmen who have just come in and have not found their range.
• Short mid on or mid off close to the cut strip in the batsman's eyeline. In fact, any slightly too close ring fielder looks sort of odd but can be an effective catcher. Put another ring fielder slightly deeper to provide cover.
• Close catchers combined with boundary runners - the in to out field - is a great play for batsmen who like to score boundaries.
• If the ball goes to the same place twice from the same bowler to the same batsman, put a fielder there, no matter how weird the position.

Of course, there is a time to be orthodox. This is most of the time. Yet a carefully planned and unusual position or two has a place too. Imagine the conversation after the game if it actually works!

What can you do to break the shackles rather than pounding at a plan that isn't working?

Leave a comment and let us know.