England Test captain Joe Root says he and his fellow professionals will have to “roll with the punches” during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Root is currently spending time at home in Sheffield with his wife Carrie and young son Alfie with sport, and indeed life in general across the globe, put on hold.

The Yorkshire batsman is trying to look on the bright side amidst the uncertainty, admitting: “For myself and the rest of the guys who have been away playing international cricket for a good period of time, it’s nice to have a chunk of time with your family. It’s something we never really get.

“To get a three-week block, minimum, in the house with Carrie and Alf is amazing. It’s just a shame that it’s under these circumstances.”

Normally, Root would have just been finishing the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka, which had to be postponed, and was then expecting to play in at least four of the first six Specsavers County Championship matches for the White Rose county, starting on Easter Sunday.

But they too have fallen by the wayside, with no cricket to be played in England before at least May 28.

“I was very much looking forward to that because for me to play a block of cricket for Yorkshire is very rare,” he said.

Instead, the 29-year-old is following a specially designed stay-at-home fitness plan devised by the England strength and conditioning team.

“In terms of other stuff, I also checked in with all the (England) guys on Thursday to see if they’re all good and coping,” he said.

“It’s similar with the Yorkshire guys. I’ve spoken to a few of them over the last week.”

Root’s Test colleague Jimmy Anderson recently spoke about his concerns that the summer could slip by without a ball bowled, and there will be senior players up and down the country, be it with England or at counties, who may be wondering whether this could signal the end of their careers if they weren’t able to get back out onto the field.

Root, however, has urged any such player to deal with the present rather than look too far ahead.

“As with everything that’s come from this situation, we’re just going to have to roll with the punches to a degree and just wait and see - have a very open-minded attitude,” he added.

“Yes, contractually, it might be a few guys’ final year. But if they haven’t played for a year, their bodies shouldn’t be any worse off and they should still be able to do what they’ve done previously.

“You can’t hide away from the fact that age slips away from you, but my view is that if you feel young enough and fit enough, there’s no reason why you can’t keep going.

“Jimmy is the perfect example of that. He just seems to get better and better every time he comes out and plays.

“I would definitely keep encouraging anybody in that situation to keep going.

“Obviously for some it’s out of their control, contractually. And with the financial implications of all of this, it might have a real effect on some players. But in hard times like this it will be the same in other jobs. And we will just have to see.”