Big Bash stars in the frame for New Zealand tour

Australia's selectors will meet next week to finalise a list of more than 30 players for two upcoming international tours that will give some of the country's domestic stars a rare chance to shine at the top level.

T20 skipper Aaron Finch says "there are so many names" to consider for their tour of New Zealand next month, which is set to be missing some of the country's best players due to a clash with a Test campaign in South Africa.

Finch concedes having two Australian teams playing at the same time is "probably not ideal", but it’s a reality of the modern world as the Aussies look to do their bit to help other cricketing nations financially during the pandemic.

And Finch can see the upside of giving some of the KFC BBL's biggest names a rare chance at international cricket as Australia continue their planning for the next T20 World Cup.

"Honestly, there's so many names," Finch said.

"When you look at the list and the chats that you have with selectors, there's a lot of people that get talked about.

"And a lot of it is going to come down to – for this tour of New Zealand – selection for the Test squad will (determine) who gets opportunities and what type of player gets opportunities.

"It's an exciting time for Australian cricket. It's probably not ideal having two Australian teams playing at the same time, but it's going to give us a lot of information going forward as well."

While both Finch and coach Justin Langer have expressed their disappointment at the scheduling clash, it's not entirely unprecedented. Domestic stars were given a chance when Australia played home T20 series' in 2014 and 2017 while their Test players were abroad, and they were unbeaten in their 2018 T20 campaign in New Zealand while the Test squad - minus then T20 captain David Warner - was preparing for a campaign in South Africa.

But the requirement in the current climate to pick extended squads of up to 18 players to cover all options during the pandemic opens the door even further for uncapped Big Bash stars to be given a chance for the NZ Tour.

Half of Australia's 18-man squad for the current Vodafone Test Series have played T20 internationals in the past six months – David Warner, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Moises Henriques, Sean Abbott and Mitchell Swepson – and most if not all of that group seem likely to be picked for the South African tour, if it goes ahead.

It means selectors will have to cast the net far and wide when they meet after the Gabba Test to finalise their two squads.

"There's been a lot of waiting for the Test series to be over and then there'll be a chance to name both squads and then we'll be able to move forward and start planning that out a bit better," Finch said.

"You've got to be planning well ahead for World Cups, so when you've got one in India (2021) and one in Australia (2022) in two years, you have to be doing your talent scouting and seeing who might be able to fill roles should some vacancies turn up."

Among the BBL's leading performers so far this season, the likes of Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott, Daniel Hughes, Jhye Richardson, Mark Steketee, Wes Agar and even young leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha have all put forward a strong case to be picked in the T20 squad.

One player who looks certain to go across the Tasman is Sydney Sixers young gun Philippe, who toured with the Australian side in England last year but is yet to make his international debut.

The Sydney Sixers opener scored a match-winning 84 from 52 balls against Perth last night to extend his lead at the top of the BBL's run-scorer’s list and teammate James Vince says it's a matter of when, not if, Philippe delivers at the highest level.

"No doubt he will play a number of games for Australia," the Englishman said.

"The quicker you can give someone like that an opportunity the better because everyone can see that he's ready.

"He can go through the gears and then shift back down. He's pretty smart as well, he thinks about the game.

"You look at (Perth’s) opening batsmen today, (Liam) Livingstone and (Jason) Roy, two very destructive players. But they probably don't do things consistently as ‘Flip’ does. And his strike rate wouldn't be too far behind. 

"He's got no limit on how far he can go."

Australia are set to play five T20s across the Tasman between February 22 and March 7 and while the three-match Test series against the Proteas has yet to be confirmed due to biosecurity concerns, it's expected to start in mid-February.

"Until we hear otherwise, we're assuming that tour is going ahead," assistant coach Andrew McDonald said yesterday of the South African campaign.

"We've got some people behind the scenes, working day and night to make sure we do go to South Africa. It's important for world cricket that the show goes on.

"All our planning and preparation, with our quicks and everything at the back end of this series, will be geared around a team going to South Africa."