Cricket: England's best batsman practices on Indian street after cyclone

England's Joe Root plays a shot on the streets of Chennai. Photo / Twitter

In India, you are likely to come across a game of cricket being played in the street. But it's rare to see one of the sport's biggest stars plying his trade.

That's exactly what happened on Friday, however, when England batsman Joe Root was left to practice on a Chennai road.

Root arrived for training at M A Chidambaram Stadium to discover that no nets were available to the England batsmen due to damage done to the ground by Cyclone Vardah. But like any good sportsman, he wasn't deterred.

No nets? No problem...@root66 will practice anywhere #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/NmzZrgpweN

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 15, 2016

Root, who has 52 caps and 4,500 Test runs to his name, strapped on his pads and a helmet to face practice deliveries from a member of the coaching staff - though he did stop short of dragging out a wheelie bin to use as stumps.

In a video posted on Twitter by England Cricket, the English vice-captain is shown playing a drive to a delivery which unsurprisingly gets up off the concrete from a good length.

Groundskeepers have been working around the clock to ensure that MA Chidambaram Stadium is ready to go when the fifth Test is due to get underway on Friday, after 160km/h winds caused havoc on Tuesday.

The floodlights along with a sightscreen and air conditioning units were all badly damaged, while the training grounds were left in a state of disrepair, which meant neither side could take to the nets on Thursday.

Officials have stated that the Test strip, which was more heavily covered, was not damaged.

The rest of the England squad were allowed onto the outfield on Thursday to take part in fielding drills.

Root and the English side will be after a consolation victory in the final Test of a difficult tour. They trail 3-0 in the series.