Australian coach Darren Lehmann wants cricket administrators to fix a helter-skelter international schedule.
But Lehmann, who sits on the International Cricket Council's influential cricket committee, knows there are no easy answers.
Steve Smith headlines a list of Australian players who have just two full days at home between assignments.
Smith landed in Sydney on Thursday, set to depart on Sunday for a three-match Twenty20 series in South Africa.
Almost non-stop cricket follows until August, when Australia are due to finish a long tour of Sri Lanka.
The show rolls on in South Africa during September then six Tests at home.
The concept of an off-season has become foreign and Lehmann suggests it is unsustainable.
"We need to get it better," he said.
"It's hard, though, with all the bilateral agreements and what you've got to fit into a summer.
"I don't know the answer.
"It makes it tough. It is the way it is.
"Players keep going - we're going to have injuries along the way. You've got to have a good depth."
Cutting the Indian Premier League window is often proposed as a solution but, practically, it is highly unlikely to happen.
Chairman of selectors Rod Marsh noted earlier this month he felt for modern-day players.
"It's been a ridiculous program for them to try and combat," Marsh said.
"The whole season has been difficult to navigate. It's been extremely difficult. I don't know how they do it."
Marsh was speaking about the absence of a tour game before the trans-Tasman Test series.
The two sides instead played three ODIs.
"It wasn't ideal preparation," Lehmann conceded.
"We can't do much about that. We couldn't fit in a tour game ... it's the way the schedule is."
SMITH'S SCHEDULE SINCE START OF SUMMER:
* Nov: Three-Test series v New Zealand (home)
* Dec: Three-Test series v West Indies (home)
* Jan: Five ODIs, one T20 v India (home)
* Feb: Three ODIs, two Tests v NZ (away)
* March: Three T20s v South Africa (away), T20 World Cup
* April-May: Indian Premier League
* June: ODI tri-series in the West Indies
* July-Aug: Three Tests, five ODIs, two T20s v Sri Lanka (away)
* Sept-Oct: ODI series in South Africa (away)
* Oct-Dec: Three-Test series v South Africa, three-Test series v Pakistan (home)
Share
