London: Pakistan's bid to encourage Australia to tour for the first time in more than 20 years will step up in September when Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts visits the country.

Roberts is planning a stopover in the sub-continent when returning to England before the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval during a busy northern summer for Australian cricket.

Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts. AAP

He has a strong relationship with Pakistan Cricket Board managing director Wasim Khan, who has spent the past year lobbying for an Australian return. Australia last toured Pakistan for three Tests and three one-day internationals under then-captain Mark Taylor in 1998.

CA has no immediate plans to complete a full tour of Pakistan but there could be the opportunity for a "fly in, fly out" Twenty20 match. That could see Australia based in Dubai but make a 90-minute flight on a private jet to Karachi, play a match that night, then immediately return to Dubai.

Safety and security fears remain the key issue, but a touring side would be given presidential-level security.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the former champion cricketing all-rounder, could also get involved in encouraging Australia to return.

Pakistan will tour Australia for two Tests this summer, with the two nations due to then meet again in 2021. The PCB is keen for that series to be in Pakistan, and not in the United Arab Emirates.

The PCB had wanted Australia to play a part of their five-match series in March in Pakistan but CA did not agree, the series being held in full in the UAE.

Pakistan have suffered as a result of having to stage home matches in the UAE, with attendances, as reinforced during the two-Test series against Australia in October, almost non-existent. This has also impacted on the broadcast rights fees the PCB has been able to demand.

CA often receives correspondence pointing out there are also security fears in other major cricketing nations, with the Christchurch mosque shootings in March this year used by some as one example. But this will not have any impact on CA's stance.

It's been a decade since Sri Lankan players were attacked by gunmen on the team bus in Pakistan, an incident that injured six players and killed six security personnel. There has been little international cricket in the country since.

But there has been some encouragement for the PCB. Sri Lanka returned for a one-off Twenty20 in 2017, while the West Indies played a three-match T20 series in Karachi last year. Australian Test captain Tim Paine, Ben Cutting and George Bailey were part of a World XI that played a three-match T20 series there in 2017.

Aaron Finch, Australia's World Cup skipper, has said he would relish the chance to play in Pakistan provided safety and security issues were allayed.

One major issue remains the advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which encourages travellers to "reconsider your need to travel".

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia will soon release the Big Bash League fixture for next summer, according to state sources. The biggest debate has been over a change in the finals format. The current system features only four sides, meaning there are two knock-out semi-finals and then the final.

This has not given the team finishing first any advantage - namely a second chance - outside of staging a semi-final at home.

Under revised plans, there is strong support for a five-team finals series but how that works has yet to be confirmed. One plan is to give the top team automatic entry into a semi-final, with the winner advancing into the final and the loser having a second chance in a preliminary final.