Viewers will be bowled over by The Edge!

England’s cricketers wrote their names into the history books 12 months ago, winning their first World Cup title in a finale that went down as one of the most exciting ever in team sport.

It seemed as though nothing could separate the Three Lions from New Zealand, with the nations battling to an unprecedented tie, both sides locked on 241 after 100 overs of tension that cast Ben Stokes as the hosts’ hero.

That paved the way for a super over, a six-ball shoot-out that had previously never occurred in a one-day international, before England eventually triumphed by the smaller of margins.

Just like the legendary Ashes series of 1981 and 2005, the events of that day captured the imagination of the public, and proved once again that the sport of cricket is still capable of delivering nerve-shredding drama.

Just days after that historic success, Amazon Prime released The Edge, a new documentary, narrated by actor Toby Jones, telling the story of the reinvention of English cricket under the guidance of coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss between 2009 and 2013.

Mixing spectacular aerial shots of packed stadiums in far-flung sun-drenched destinations with the nitty gritty close-ups of the duels between the batsmen and bowlers, Barney Douglas’s film is a tale of what it takes to make it to the pinnacle of sport – and the cost on the participants’ mental health.

The film supports the Heads Together mental health initiative, with a sizeable chunk of the net profits from the film going to support the work of the charity.

England’s rise from the depth of the world rankings to No 1 for the first time since ICC records began is described first hand by Flower, Strauss and key personnel, including fast bowling pair James Anderson and Stuart Broad, spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, and the opening batsman who would go onto become Strauss’s successor as captain, Sir Alastair Cook.

There is also a goldmine of rare behind-the-scenes footage painting a compelling, funny and emotional picture of what went on with this band of cricketing brothers when Sky’s broadcasting cameras stopped rolling.

We also get to see a re-evaluation of the much-publicised Kevin Pietersen situation, a Twitter-heightened flashpoint that is still a sore spot in certain quarters as it threatened to completely undo the work done by Flower, Strauss and co transforming England into a phenomenal winning machine.

Douglas also considers the role of sports psychology and ignores 10 years of Flower’s post-match interview spin to explain the true cost of the coach’s militarised push for glory on his sometimes beleaguered troops.

Wicketkeeper Matt Prior admits: “Life as a professional sportsman doesn’t necessarily lend itself to you being a good person – because it’s about winning.”

However, the most moving (and cautionary) part of the documentary is when painfully vulnerable batsman Jonathan Trott breaks down in tears while reliving his time in the Test match cauldron.

Although last year’s limited-overs World Cup final delivered sporting brilliance and drama, The Edge shows exactly why cricket’s elongated five-day version is still the purest form of the game – and why the matches are called Tests.

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