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Victoria coach Chris Rogers says it could soon become a nine-game Sheffield Shield season after his side's schedule in the Adelaide hub was rejigged.
Victoria will play two Sheffield Shield games in the Adelaide Hub as part of fixture changes that will make it harder for Cricket Australia to fulfil its ambition of staging a full season.
The Vics are training in Adelaide, but under tougher quarantine restrictions compared to other squads.
They were slated to start their Shield campaign on October 22, but that game and another clash with NSW on November 17-20 have both been postponed.
Victoria will now open their season on October 30, against Tasmania, and play a further match before the first-class competition enters its 'mid-season' hiatus and makes way for the BBL.
The stop-start fixture means the governing body now has even more domestic cricket to try to squeeze into the second half of 2020-21.
CA has so far opted against reducing the length of any domestic competition, but many fear this is now inevitable.
Chris Rogers, who was appointed Victoria coach in August, suggested it "looks like it's going to be a nine-game" Shield season.
"We're going to have to play seven after the BBL, which is going to be challenging," Rogers told RSN.
"We just have to be prepared to be flexible and we'll deal with that when we come across it."
CA, yet to finalise updated schedules for the BBL and Australia's four-Test series against India, hasn't revealed plans for the 'second half' of the Shield season.
CA discussed cutting the Shield final and two rounds as a cost-cutting measure earlier this year amid its COVID-19 financial crisis, but that idea was sternly rejected by players.
A full 59-game WBBL season will start on October 25, but details of the women's domestic one-day competition are yet to be announced.
CA rejigged its Shield schedule on Monday, keen to minimise the risk of injury for Victoria's quicks while ensuring all domestic players have a break of some description before the BBL.
Rogers noted his squad have been in a holding pattern since landing in Adelaide, where they were confronted with more restrictive quarantine measures than what had been originally agreed on.
"We are training in groups of four. We only get a short rotation in the nets," the former Test opener said.
"We just thought we aren't going to be able to prepare well enough.
"Particularly with our young fast bowlers."
SHEFFIELD SHIELD SCHEDULE CHANGES
* Oct 19-22: Vic & Qld now have byes, SA v Tas, WA v NSW
* Nov 17-20: Delayed round-one match between NSW and Victoria, slated for these dates, has been postponed.
