England skippers Joe Root, Heather Knight still train amid suspended season

England's skippers Joe Root and Heather Knight have been maintaining their fitness despite the coronavirus suspending all sporting events.

"While it has been good to get some downtime after our return from Sri Lanka, keeping my fitness up is really important so I can be at the top of my game when we get back on the field," Root said. 

"I'm an active person anyway, with my young son keeping me busy, but having a structured plan will help me improve in certain areas," the star batsman added.

"We'd obviously much rather be playing cricket right now, but this gives us an opportunity to recover from a demanding past 12 months and get our bodies in good shape for when matches resume."

Meanwhile Knight, who hopes to lead her team against India this season, said that the she needed to be "as ready as we can" when the sport resumed. 

READ: Uncertainty looms over English cricket season amid coronavirus

"It's obviously not ideal but it's a great way of trying to stay in shape and keep ticking over.

"This is a new challenge -- we'll all just be doing what we can to maintain our levels and hopefully be as ready as we can when we get back playing, whenever that comes." 

Meanwhile, ECB's national lead coach for strength and conditioning Rob Ahmun said the board had provided centrally contracted men's and women's players with a 'home training' package, including ropes, resistance bands, medicine ball and a kettle ball.

"If the season does come about and we know we have, say, a six week build-up to the season we've ensured the players aren't starting for a training base of zero, they're starting from a decent base so they can hit the ground running," he said.

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