Sheffield Shield set for September start

The Sheffield Shield could start in September this year as Cricket Australia considers how to ease the scheduling squeeze caused by the ICC World Twenty20 and the Champions League T20. The Shield typically opens in the second week of October but the Champions League T20, which will feature the Sydney Sixers and the Perth Scorchers, is set to be staged during that time.

In past years, the Australian domestic schedule could have been skewed to allow the four states not competing in the Champions League to start their season while the tournament was on. But the move to city-based sides in the Big Bash League last summer means that is no longer a possibility, for the teams can draw their players from all over the country.

"There is an aspect of this season which is a little bit unusual in that the Champions League is played in October this year rather than September," Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland said. "That's because of the World T20 being just prior to that normal timeslot. That does cause some complications for us and yes, we are in the process of exploring the possibility of one or two Shield games being played before the normal time, in September."

The major challenge for Cricket Australia will be to settle on venues that will provide reliable weather at the start of spring. Darwin and Cairns have hosted the Australia team during the southern winter in the past, but Sutherland would not be drawn on whether the top-end venues would be in the mix to host Shield games this season.

"I can promise you they won't be played in Tasmania," Sutherland said.

Cricket Australia's general manager of operations, Geoff Allardice, will spend the next few weeks finalising the Australian schedule for the 2012-13 season after being given approval at a Cricket Australia board meeting on Friday. South Africa and Sri Lanka are due to visit for Tests, before one-day series against Sri Lanka and West Indies in January-February.

Sri Lanka will play the Boxing Day Test at the MCG and the New Year's Test in Sydney, while South Africa's tour will need to be wrapped up by mid-December to allow them to return home in time to play New Zealand, a series that starts on December 21 in Durban. The fixture will also feature the first Australia home game in Canberra, an ODI against either Sri Lanka or West Indies.