ADELAIDE • Rival captains Steve Smith and Brendon McCullum are excited about what the first day-night Test could mean for the future of cricket.

Big crowds will be thronging Adelaide Oval for today's pink-ball third Test between Australia and New Zealand, with the cricket world watching the first day-night match in 138 years of Tests with keen interest.

Just like the advent of one-day internationals in the 1970s and the glitzy Twenty20 format in the last decade, Test cricket stands on the threshold of a game-changer and both skippers are keen to buy into the concept.

"People are voting with their feet and they are encouraged by what the pink-ball Test has to offer and for us to play in front of 40,000 people in a Test match is pretty amazing," New Zealand skipper McCullum said. "So we're really excited about it and hopefully it goes off brilliantly, with no challenges and no problems.

"If we have the final session on the fifth day under lights and the Test match result is in the balance, then it could be something that is outstanding for the game moving forward."

Smith, whose Australia team lead the three-Test series 1-0, was also upbeat about creating something exciting for the traditional form of the international game.

"We are creating history playing in the first day-night Test, so I'm sure a lot of people are going to be watching around the world and that's really exciting for world cricket," he said. "I think it's a really exciting concept. I can't wait to get out and give it a crack."

Ticket sales have been brisk, with a first-day crowd of up to 40,000 expected - compared with 16,000 the last time the two sides met in Adelaide in 2008.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE