Just like many other cricket fans, Joe Root is watching the docu-series The Test to while away the time spent as social distancing measures are in force.

The eight-part Amazon Prime Video-produced series follows the fortunes of the Australian men’s team in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal that saw Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft temporarily banned from the game.

With its considerable behind-the-scenes access, The Test charts Australia’s 2019 World Cup and Ashes campaigns; the latter of which saw them retain the urn on English soil for the first time since 2001.

“I resisted watching that for a good while,” said the England Test skipper. “I’ve started watching the first few now. Whilst we were away I exhausted a lot of the shows that I wanted to watch and it’s come round to watching that now.

“It’s been a good motivator to get back and train, get back on the bike, use it as a way of incentivising myself. I’ve only got to the start of the World Cup, so we’ll see how the rest of it unfolds.”

While the documentary has been praised for showing a more human side to the Australian players, it has simultaneously received criticism for it’s near total avoidance of acknowledging the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket in early 2018.