Cricket: Players should decide on more night tests - Michael Clarke

Australian quick Mitchell Starc with the pink ball. Photo / Getty

Listen to the players; that's former Australian skipper Michael Clarke's advice to cricket bosses going into the historic first day-night test.

Amid a flurry of talk looking ahead to another pink ball match next summer before Australia and New Zealand have raised a bat in anger, Clarke said the most significant views should come from the players in this week's match.

Clarke, who retired after this year's Ashes test, is a supporter of the idea of day-night test cricket, but he insists longer term plans should not be based only on high television ratings and the anticipated large crowds at Adelaide Oval for at least the first two days of this test.

Cricket Australia is pushing the idea as a panacea for falling crowds and keeping the test game interesting. Players have expressed reservations about the ball but the big crowd numbers and TV interest has their eyes spinning.

"I think I've probably grown with the idea. I think it's exciting for the game to try it," Clarke said.

"There's been so much talk about it, but I think we've just got to let the players play with it and they'll be the greatest example to be able to tell us whether they think it worked or not. They will know more than anyone else.

"I think watching on television at home will be easy, you'll follow the ball like normal and you won't notice any difference.

"But I think the concern from the players I've spoken to is seeing the seam of the ball when they're batting and then the crowd actually being able to pick the ball up once it gets older at night."

Clarke said if the players emerge from this test with an encouraging report on how it worked, then push on and work on taking it around the cricket world.

"But if they're not (happy), I think if we want to play day-night test cricket we will have to find a ball that works better than the pink one."

Clarke admitted he was twitchy about the prospect of a pink ball test experiment 18 months ago. His view has slightly changed.

"I think for the continued growth of test cricket if I was playing in this test match I'd be excited about it," he said.