The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will meet on Wednesday to discuss the inaugural season of The Hundred, which is due to start on 17 July.
The domestic season, scheduled to start on April 12, had been delayed until at least May 28 because of coronavirus.
The ECB says it will look to schedule all international cricket between July and the end of September.
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said: “As much as we remain hopeful that we can deliver some cricket this summer, we are in the midst of a worldwide crisis and our priority - over and above the playing of professional sport - will be to protect the vulnerable, key workers and society as a whole.”
After a board meeting on Thursday, the ECB said blocks for domestic first-class and limited-overs cricket will be included in a new schedule.
Harrison said international and county matches could be played behind closed doors, with players and officials potentially staying in a “bio-secure” environment.
He told the BBC that the ECB is “starting to get comfortable with the idea that there won’t be crowds this summer”.
“Much of our planning is now based on what behind closed-doors-cricket might look like,” he said.
“If you talk about the measures the government has got in place through this lockdown and the subtle messaging that’s coming out about the longevity of some of the measures, probably the last lever the government is likely to pull is the one around mass gatherings.
“That is obviously something for us that impacts the ability to put cricket fans into stadia.”
The ECB will prioritise the most financially important forms of the game, its commitment to broadcasters and the growth of the women’s game.
To that end, the Twenty20 Blast, which was due to begin on May 28 and had 11 rounds of matches scheduled up until the beginning of July, will be pushed as late as possible into the season. Nine rounds of the four-day County Championship have been lost, but the ECB moved to allay fears that no domestic first-class cricket would be played by stating that a window for red-ball cricket will be scheduled.
The men’s version of The Hundred, which will feature eight city-based franchises, is set to run from July 15 to August 14. Surrey chairman Richard Thompson, whose county will host the Oval Invincibles, said he does not think The Hundred will be held this year.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I can’t see how in a season of four months you could possibly cram that in with an international schedule, which is crucial; the Blast, which is essential to the counties; and the County Championship, which is still the gold standard.”
Thompson also said it is possible to extend the season by playing matches in the United Arab Emirates. The MCC Champion County match, the curtain-raiser to the domestic season, was played in Abu Dhabi between 2010 and 2018, and several counties often play pre-season matches in the UAE.
The UAE has been less affected by coronavirus than many parts of the world, recording 56 deaths so far.
“Abu Dhabi have made it clear that they could host matches if the season is to be extended,” said Thompson.
“If the season needed two months to finish the competitions, they could potentially host it. Abu Dhabi have got four grounds now and Dubai have got three. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility.
“There’s a significant cost to ship 18 counties to one location and to play a tournament out that way. But if there is no possibility of playing in this country then you’ve got to be creative.”