Langer's five-year plan to strengthen club cricket

Justin Langer is eying May 18, when Australia's men's team finish their annual leave period, with the national coach keen to see which players emerge as the hungriest and most resilient.

Langer, who describes himself as a "full-time coach on part-time pay", believes the shutdown that has seen a majority of Cricket Australia employees stood down until June 30 may present a chance to recalibrate Australian cricket.

As CA's talks with the players' association and state associations regarding amended continue, Langer looms as a crucial figure in the sport's attempt to rebuild from the current crisis.

Langer has been regularly tuning in and offering feedback during CA chief executive Kevin Roberts' video-call catch-ups with staff, while also staying in touch with players and helping to plot a path through uncertainty about scheduling, support staff and so much more.

"We've got to keep moving the ship in the right direction ... our guys come back off their leave on May 18," Langer told ABC Grandstand.

"We've got to make sure they're all in tip-top condition. I actually can't wait to see how they come back without all the bells and whistles ... it's going to be a really good indication of the hungry, self-resilient and self-reliant players."

Tim Paine's team had originally planned to be assembling in Brisbane later this month, seeking to shake off some rust at the Bupa National Cricket Centre before flying to Bangladesh for a two-Test tour.

That series has been postponed and it is unclear when Australia will next assemble as a squad, with plans for August's limited overs series against Zimbabwe unclear, while David Warner said it was "highly unlikely" Australia would tour England for a white-ball tour this winter.

Questions also abound about what CA's high-performance and pathway programs will look like when the dust settles and states agree on a new funding arrangement.

"It wasn't that long ago that we prided ourselves on having an amazing club cricket system that fed into state domestic cricket, which fed into the best of the best playing for Australia," Langer said.

"I see it as an amazing opportunity. I can see it actually going back that way.

"More emphasis back on club cricket, more emphasis on state cricket then get the best of the best in Australia. That would be my vision for the next five years."

Queensland coach Wade Seccombe said he expected the game "to go back 10 to 15 years in the way we prepare things" as he expects to have fewer assistant coaches at his disposal.

Seccombe believes that will help develop more resilient players better equipped to be accountable for their own preparation and decision-making.

"It's actually a good thing. Cricket has had the luxury of being quite a wealthy sport for a period of time and we have to rein it in," Seccombe told News Corp recently.

"We have to be more efficient in what we do. In Queensland, we are trying to get players who are more self-determining. That was our focus for the off-season. Let them manage their own programs.

"Coaches are there to facilitate and co-ordinate but ultimately it is their program. They need to get used to making some decisions in life and owning their game.

"That nature of the pandemic has made life that way because we are not going to have as many staff servicing them and they are going to have to stand on their own two feet a little more."