A pink ball, which has been designed to be visible in natural light and under floodlights, will be used but all other playing conditions remain unaltered.

Floodlit Test cricket has been approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in a bid to boost attendances.

A first-day crowd of 50,000 is expected for the finale of the three-Test series, which Australia lead 1-0.

Day-night, pink-ball cricket has been trialled extensively across the world, with the traditional opener to the English season between the county champions and the MCC held under lights in Abu Dhabi since 2010.

The traditional red ball would be difficult to see against the night sky, while the white ball used in limited-overs cricket will not work with the white clothing and sight screens of Test matches.

When the Marylebone Cricket Club, the game's lawmaker, invited manufacturers to a consultation, it also explained a desire for the new ball to behave as similarly to the red ball as possible.

Yellow and orange balls were considered but proved problematic for TV cameras until eventually, with the help of Imperial College London, a pink version was agreed.

Even after that, manufacturers Kookaburra went through 16 different shades of pink before they settled on the one that will be used in Adelaide.

Not only has the ball been trialled on the cricket field, but some tests have involved firing it out of a cannon at a wall and even tying a white ball to a weather balloon and sending it into space.