Cricket - even limited overs - is a game that can be won and lost with tactics. Here's an example.

On Sunday, the team I coach were playing an important knockout match. Winner takes all. Stakes were high.

The setup

Batting first, it was difficult to read what would be a good score. The pitch had pace and bounce, and there was lateral movement off the seam. The bowlers were favourites. However, the outfield was very fast with most shots beating the infield going for four. Batsmen were getting value.

The opposition clearly knew this, setting a ring field early on and protecting behind square on the off side against faster bowling. With good lines, my team found it hard to rotate the strike.

Boundaries were possible thanks to the fast outfield, but the fielding side were almost ignoring this, and focused on bowling good lines and stopping everything in the ring with some excellent ground fielding.

As a result, the run rate dipped from 4.1 after 10 overs to 2.9 after 30. Wickets fell under this pressure, the score was 87-5.

The mistake

Naturally, the field was attacking as the fielding side looked to finish things early for an easy chase.

However, thanks to some excellent batting from a well set number four and a level-headed number seven, the extra gaps in the field were exploited to improve the strike rotation dramatically. Suddenly the team were under less pressure and pushed the rate back up with no real change in approach.

It was at this point, the biggest tactical error was made.

Instead of returning to a ring field, cutting off the singles and ignoring the odd boundary (as before), the field went out. Boundary runners were leaving single gaps at cover, mid on and mid off.

There was even a short period where there was no third man.

This allowed the pair to play their confident rotation game under less pressure and keep wickets in hand for a big push at the end.

The death

From a difficult moment, the team entered the death phase on 121-5, and a well set batsman past fifty.

The final ten overs saw an explosion of runs, going at seven and eight an over from the 40th. There were over 80 runs scored, with some huge hits taking the score past 200.

This was all from a situation where the team were considering 140 as a first target earlier in the innings.

From here, 202 proved too many and the winning margin after the second innings was 23 runs.

The conclusions

It's safe to say that the fielding tactical error was not the only reason the game was won by the team I coach.

However, its was also a crucial moment that was a slip up due to an unforced error.

Any team can lose thanks to great batting or classy bowling. You can't control that. What you can control is how you read the game and how you react to the situation. If you are engaged with the game and realise your best chance of success is different from "orthodox" tactics, then go for it.

I think this time, the fielding side fell into a trap of field placing by tradition rather than how the game was actually unfolding. It was enough of a crack to make a hole in the wall by the batting team, and they took their chance.

The lesson: stay engaged with the game and avoid letting a team in. Good teams will not wait to exploit the opportunity!