Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Tips. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here

There are times when you need bad field placing to get the job done.

Why would any self respecting spinner bowl with bad field placing? Well, it's to entice the batsman to make a mistake.

This is a tactic you can use when the batsman is just defending and does not want to take any chances.

Here are two examples of how bad field placing can be just the thing you need to get a wicket:

1.Leave a big gap at cover

That might sounds strange, surely you should be plugging the gap, not leave a nice big hold for the batsman to drive you through?

Yes, this is true in most cases. But, there are times when the batsman is just not wanting to take risks. And you need him to take risks so that you stand a chance of him making a mistake.

So, when the captain tosses you the ball, tell him you want a nice big gap in the covers. Then you toss it up nice and slow on the offside just short of a length. The idea is for the batsman to not be able to resist having a go.

You might go a for a boundary.

But more than likely, if you bowled it short of a length the ball will have time to turn and you will beat him on the in or outside.

2. Take out your cow corner

Take your cow out and toss the ball up just a little higher than usual. Not crazy high, just a little higher and little slower. Batsman cannot resist that.

And with no cow in place he will take the bait and go for it rather than block it again.

If you do your job right he will go for it and a top edge or stumping is on the card.

Your captain needs to be brave though. Because if the batsman does manage to pull of a few boundaries then he should not be taking you off.

So, get your captain to back you, then make the batsman look at you as if you are crazy. It's so mad, it might just work.