Josh Philippe is set to make his debut for Australia in New Zealand when Australia head across the ditch for a five-game Twenty20 series.

White ball captain Aaron Finch revealed that the Sydney Sixers keeper would bat in the top three for Australia.

Philippe amassed 508 runs and was a key cog in the Sixers machine that successfully defended their BBL crown.

Philippe looked set to debut when Australia were set to be forced to select two separate touring squads, one for New Zealand and one for a three-match test series in South Africa.

However when the South African tour was postponed there were doubts that some of the stars of BBL10 would get their opportunity with more test players now available for selection.

Cricket.com.au have reported that the top five for Australia is almost locked in.

"The top three will be Wade, Philippe and myself," Finch said.

"Maxi (Maxwell) and Stoin (Stoinis), four and five, around that area.

"It's pretty simple I'd imagine. When you look at the squad list, Josh Philippe has been in great nick and it's great to see him playing well.

"Matty Wade, we know how dynamic he is along with Maxi.

"We're going to be flexible with that top order as well. If that means Wadey or myself or Josh, whoever bats at three, it'll be a great opportunity."

Philippe has toured with Australia before but will now make his debut, making an exciting addition to Australia's white ball squad ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Finch said Philippe had earned his place having taken his game to a new level during BBL10.

"He's someone who has obviously got all the shots but he's starting to get to that point of his career โ€“ and I think a lot of that was on the back of having a couple of months of IPL where he spent a lot of time with AB (de Villers) and Virat (Kohli) talking about batting with myself (as well) โ€“ he's taken his game to a new level because he's just getting past that period when he's not hitting them well.

"When he's playing well it's lights out, it's brilliant. But just those days when he's not feeling 100 per cent, he's getting through that little danger period and still having a big impact on the game which I think is so important in T20.

"It's such an up-and-down game, you're not going to be consistent all the time but you can still contribute and he's doing a brilliant job, he played fantastically well (for the Sixers).

"When his head is still, he's playing beautifully, and his wicketkeeping has been really good as well.

"That's a great position for him to be in, coming here with a huge amount of confidence off the back of another Big Bash title."

Philippe will be afforded the opportunity to focus on just his batting in the first game with Finch confirming Wade will take the gloves in the series' opening game.