Australia's Joe Burns keen on country return after ill-fated Lancashire spell

Australian Test opener Joe Burns remains keen to play county cricket despite his ill-fated sojourn with Lancashire last year.

Burns played only one match with Lancashire before returning to Australia after being diagnosed with a fatigue disorder that doctors linked to a 2018 viral infection.

Though omitted from last year's Ashes squad, the Queenslander returned to the national side to play five Tests in the southern summer, and was rewarded by promotion to Cricket Australia's central contract list last month.

"I think from year to year players want to play as much cricket as possible," said Burns, who previously completed stints with Middlesex and Leicestershire.

"The calendars and the schedule dictate our availability a lot of the time... but obviously if there are large breaks in our schedule then the opportunities to play county cricket are always fantastic, to get over there and play as much as possible."

While Burns said his early return from Lancashire had allowed him to be mentally and physically ready for the Australian summer, he said English stints were invariably a boon for Australian batsmen.

He cited the meteoric rise of Marnus Labuschagne to his current status as world No 3 after his call-up from county cricket to the second Test of last year's Ashes series.

"You see it year in year out, players who want to get over there and play county cricket," Burns said. "Marnus Labuschagne is a great example, the way he went to Glamorgan and made so many runs and then stepped into the Ashes and did so well.

"There are so many benefits for the players, especially now with The Hundred coming in as well, a fourth format in England. So there's a lot of opportunities for Australians to get over there and get into some high quality cricket."

Burns saw an upside to world cricket's current coronavirus-enforced hiatus, albeit especially for southern hemisphere players whose season had just ended when lockdown measures came into force.

"This forced lay-off for everyone provides the opportunity to really get yourself right, reset, and to start preparing physically for next summer," he said. "It's probably the longest off-season any of us has had for a long time.

"From a physical perspective, it gives the opportunity for us to be in a really strong position, and in the back of our minds we know that once we do start playing again it's going to be pretty much non-stop looking at the calendar."