Australia 'a good chance' to tour England this year: Langer

Australia men's team head coach Justin Langer says there's "a good chance" his side will be able to travel to the United Kingdom later this year for a white-ball campaign against England.

However, Langer's plan to have his players ready to play in early September indicates the proposed home ODI series against Zimbabwe in August is in doubt.

The Aussies were scheduled to play three T20s and three ODIs in England between July 3 and 16, but the series has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts, who resigned this week, last month floated the prospect of the tour going ahead in September, if bio-security and health concerns could be addressed.

International cricket is set to resume early next month when England commence a three-Test series against the West Indies, with matches to be played in bio-secure venues and without crowds in attendance.

A successful staging of those matches in Southampton and Manchester, and of Pakistan's proposed tour in August, could open the door for Australia to follow at the end of the English summer.

"If you were to ask me two weeks ago if we were to go to England, I would have said there is no chance," Langer said at a press conference in Perth on Thursday.

"Standing here now, I would think there is a good chance.

"As important as it is for India to come to Australia, the Australian cricket team to go and play cricket in England would be equally as important for English cricket."

Langer's side is next scheduled to play in three home one-day internationals against Zimbabwe in August but with Australia's international borders and the domestic borders of Queensland - the host state for the third match of the tour - still closed due to the pandemic, that series is under a cloud.

The likely rescheduling of the T20 World Cup, originally planned for October and November, as well as uncertainty surrounding the 2020 Indian Premier League adds to a complex six months ahead leading up the Australian summer.

Later on Thursday, Langer said he was preparing to have his players ready to return to action in early September, but acknowledged the uncertainty around the international schedule made it difficult to plan.

"I'd imagine it's really important for English cricket that the Australian cricket team goes there, if we can," he said. "But it's not as simple as that.

"With isolation periods and preparation and then when we come back, when the ICC make the decision in July about the World Cup, then if the IPL is going on. There's so many moving parts at the moment, isn't there?

"What I know is we'll focus on being ready for early September ... and we'll keep living through that philosophy that we always stay ready. So we don't have to get ready and we don't panic when the time comes."