Part 1 of a new series detailing England’s behind-the-scenes Ashes preparations.

For the last 12 months, Jonathan Agnew has been given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the England men’s cricket team’s planning to win back the Ashes. Throughout the year, Aggers has spoken to key players, including Joe Root, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and many more, but also those names who are less familiar, but still play crucial roles – the tour planners, the nutritionists, the fitness teams.

In Episode One, we go back to January. Joe Root is in Sri Lanka, and Aggers catches up with him to find out what England’s long-term plans are. But as the tours of Sri Lanka and India continue, it’s clear that England’s rest and rotation policy is becoming increasingly unpopular, especially as England start to lose in India.