Indeed, New Zealand are well acquainted with the empty seats in the United Arab Emirates and vast tracts of vacant territory at the Gabba told an eloquent story.
There are big problems and this is the biggest reason why the day-night concept is being trialled. And it's not just a concern for Cricket Australia.
It's too simplistic to say the competition from the two limited-overs forms is damaging test crowds but it doesn't help.
"We came out of a series in the UAE where, apart from the week-end days, there was virtually no one there," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said after Australia's series against Pakistan there last year.
"But it's quite foreseeable that, if those matches had started at 3pm and gone into the evening, the attendance would've been significantly better."
That's why the day-night experiment has legs.
Indian crowds pour in for ODIs, far less so for tests. Go away from Cape Town and it's not much better in South Africa. New Zealand can hardly shout from the rooftops about their test numbers. And the West Indies are so feeble you can't blame the Caribbean crowds for not bothering to turn up.
So it's not just an Australian issue. The numbers are poor, apart from the Ashes and India, compared to yesteryear.
Inflated ticket prices were identified as one reason for the poor Brisbane turnout this month. More flexible pricing is seen as one way to improve numbers, but the modern squeeze on recreation time means the entertainment has to be good to persuade fans to take a day away.
Play it as a day-nighter and there are still four hours to watch at the end of a working day, with appealing prices in play.
CA are conducting a review at the end of this season which will look at creative ways to get people through the turnstiles for less. However, Sutherland disputes there is a natural link between lowering the entry price and raising attendances.
"We'll be definitely reviewing that in greater detail when it comes to the end of this season. Pricing considerations are always very important," Sutherland told ABC Grandstand.
He argued there were more factors at play than that alone in underwhelming crowd numbers so far in this series but ... "whenever you talk about a product that you are selling, price is an absolute factor in that and it is something that we are certainly not blind to".
Prices at the gate in Adelaide for the later part of each day are around $20 for adults, $10 for children.
A substandard series decider could be a costly and embarrassing experiment for CA, who kicked in $1 million to convince players from both sides to play the innovative fixture, and there are concerns about how the ball will hold up.
The New Zealand players were initially against the idea of being used as guinea pigs in what was such an important test series for them but have softened their stance and seem genuinely excited about the game.
Australian coach Darren Lehmann, wearing his ICC cricket committee member hat, said it was important to "make sure we're pushing the boundaries ... and trying to get people to come and watch in different parts of the world".
"Only time will tell if it's right or wrong, but ... we have to give it a crack and I think it's important for the game."
Day-night test poll:
Yes: 68 per cent
No: 21 per cent
Undecided: 11 per cent
Cricket Australia poll taken on June 30, the day the Adelaide test details were announced, with 16,200 respondents.
Why now? Why New Zealand?
The timing was right, and New Zealand were receptive. That's why next week's day-night test is on.
Cricket Australia have been keen on the idea for some time. Adelaide was the favoured venue and New Zealand Cricket were sounded out.
Agreement wasn't a given but New Zealand had had no test contact with the Aussies for four years. The trade-off is greater playing access against Australia in the next few years.
NZC have considered a pink ball test but it's some way down the road, if it comes to fruition at all. As NZC manager of cricket Lindsay Crocker put it recently, the idea of a day-night test in New Zealand "has never been a dead duck".
The best way to view it is that the idea is sitting in the drawer rather than the rubbish bin.
How Adelaide plays out will be an influencing factor. NZC officials will be in Adelaide for the match and for talks with CA counterparts.
"All that will help us decide whether we follow a similar path in future," Crocker said.
"If it is successful in Adelaide, for example, why wouldn't we look at it as a potential option?"
The other key element is the potential for greater advertising revenue.
As an example, TV ratings in Australia's eastern states of the annual Perth test - Western Australia is three hours behind - have been around 40 per cent higher than comparable tests because of the time difference.
Then there's the lucrative Subcontinental market. Cricket at night drops into India nicely for the late afternoon-early evening audience.
There is a dollar to be made out of this, another reason Channel 9 are right behind the day-nighter.
On a smaller financial scale, it works on television in New Zealand, with play starting at 4.30pm and running through until 11.30pm.
Crowd sizes
First test, Brisbane
First day: 16,181
Match total: 53,572
Second test, Perth
First day: 13,000
Match total: 40,288
Third test, Adelaide
Anticipated crowd for each
of the first and second days: 40,000-45,000
