Cricket Australia have applied the brakes on the AFL’s hopes of playing a Grand Final at the home of football later in the year.

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, the AFL has been forced to improvise, Gillon McLachlan announcing on Monday the premiership would be reduced to 17 rounds.

There has also been growing speculation the AFL and NRL finals series may need to be pushed back into the summer months, the Grand Final potentially pushed later than the original September 26th date.

Watch over 50 sports LIVE on Kayo! Stream to your TV, mobile, tablet or computer. Just $25/month, cancel anytime. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

However, the popular AFL venues — including the MCG, SCG, the Gabba and Adelaide Oval — are already booked in October and November. The world’s best cricket teams will travel to Australia next summer for the T20 Cricket World Cup, to be played between October 18th and November 15th.

Not only has Australia never hosted a men’s T20 World Cup, but the national side is yet to claim a title in the game’s shortest format.

For this reason, Cricket Australia would be reluctant to sacrifice the coveted MCG — which seats approximately 100,000 spectators — for the AFL premiership.

Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts confirmed the MCG is contracted to the T20 World Cup, but is open to supporting the winter codes amid a global health epidemic. He also admitted the summer sports have been “a little bit” lucky with the timing of the coronavirus outbreak.

“Certainly, we would intend to work collaboratively and support the AFL and other winter sports codes through this period. We do have it a little bit easier at this stage given the timing of our season,” Roberts said on Tuesday.

“At the same time, there is a World Cup planned for October, November. We have agreements in place with the Victorian state government, the MCC for the (MCG) and our assumption is they go ahead as planned.

“At a bigger-picture level, we are hoping all forms of sport can be played again in a few weeks or a few months’ time. None of us are experts in this situation.

“Our hope is we are back in very much normal circumstances come October, November when the men’s T20 World Cup is to be played. At this stage, we are planning on November 15 to have a full house.

“But all sports can be expecting support from us in the meantime.”

Roberts also ruled out the possibility of a collaborative financial pool where separate sporting codes support one another — it’s every sport for themselves.

"The financial circumstances of each sport are matters for each sport, in saying that we'll support the winter sports wherever we can, but I wouldn't envisage that extends to a common financial pool if you like, given that the circumstances of each sport financially are their business,” Roberts said.

“There’s absolutely a bigger picture here of the health of the community and not just in Australia either. We’re doing our best to collaborate across other sports.”

Australia’s one-day series against New Zealand was postponed after the Federal Government recommended the cancellation of all events involving more than 500 people. The national women’s cricket team’s tour of South Africa was also abandoned.

Earlier, Roberts confirmed New South Wales had been awarded the 2019/20 Sheffield Shield title after the tenth round matches and grand final were cancelled. He also recommended the cessation of all community cricket until the coronavirus outbreak is contained.

“We will be working through with advice from experts, externally as to what are the various scenarios that are plausible, how likely are they, and how would we plan to deal with each of them,” Roberts said.

Last week, over 86,000 spectators crammed into the MCG to witness the historic Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup Final. The timing was impeccable for Cricket Australia, as the coronavirus threat had not become apparent until a few days later. However, it was recently confirmed one attendee had later tested positive for the coronavirus.

"Given the circumstances, it's hard to believe it was just a week ago that some of the greatest female cricketers in the world inspired men, women, boys and girls in amazing spectacle next door at the MCG. So we want to try and take the time to reflect proudly on that and make sure the ongoing impact of that great event, and the springboard it represents for women and girls' sport, is maximised,” Roberts said on Tuesday.

“We did get lucky there, no doubt, and we'll do what we can to support our colleagues in other sports through the winter, who are going to be harder hit by this."