Every schoolboy cricketer worth his salt makes sure he learns the names of all the fielding positions with a torch under the covers after lights out.

But just like the alphabet, knowing the letters is only the start. If you want to be able to write you have to know how to use the letters to make words and sentences and paragraphs.

In the same way, if you want to know field settings you have to know when to use positions. Field settings are the

Everyone agrees: You can't set a field for bad bowling.

Like a lot of one-line advice, it's more of a guideline because there are always exceptions. It's the cricketing equivalent of "I before E, except after C".

This is part of a series on How to exploit batsman's weaknesses. To see the other weaknesses click here.

The position of the hands on the handle of a cricket bat makes a big difference to the way a batsman plays.

If you are a bowler or captain who can spot this small technical error you can come up with a plan to restrict a batsman's scoring and get a wicket.

This article is part of "The complete guide to cricket field settings" series.

Field placings for club and school cricket is the theme of the show this week. David is back from a short break while Kevin tells us about his mixed start to the season. Don't worry Kevin, there is a long way to go yet. To help Kevin out, Ian Pont has another fast bowling tip and we answer your questions on:

Andrew Flintoff was on the rampage.

The 6ft 4 all-rounder had been served up some easy half volleys in his innings in the third Ashes Test and was walking with a confident swagger.

Picture the scene. You are in the field after posting a big score. The opposition look in little danger of being bowled out on a good batting track.

You need wickets to prevent the draw but all the usual ploys are failing.

It's time to get creative; It's time to force the batsman into an error.

Is it pointless taking wickets in limited over games?

Victory simply requires you to score more runs than the opposition in the allotted time (usually 50 or 20 overs). Whether you are in the field first or second you job is to keep the score as low as possible. That means defensive tactics.

Should you be resigned to not taking any wickets as captain or bowler then?

It's possible to make changes to your field without actually moving the fielders.

Tradition dictates that changing a field involves moving a fielder from one position to another. Mid off may go to deep mid off in defence or silly mid off in attack for example.

This article is part of "The complete guide to cricket field settings" series.

Leg spin is dangerous on any pitch because there is greater turn, drift and dip in the standard leg break than orthodox spin. However, the leg spinner also tends to be less accurate and when combined with variations like the googly it makes for an interesting challenge when setting a field.