Bird, pictured above, was preferred to Chadd Sayers, but the selectors opted against an all-out pace attack for a match to be played on a green Adelaide Oval pitch and under lights on Thursday.

The three new caps are Queensland’s Matthew Renshaw, Victorian Peter Handscomb and the Blues Nic Maddinson. Not since 2011, when David Warner, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson all received their Baggy Greens, has Australia blooded so many debutants in a Test.

Bird, 29, has taken 11 wickets at 22.73 in two twilight Sheffield Shield matches, and that form with the pink ball has won him selection over local lad Sayers.

To counter the seam attack, though, the Adelaide wicket is to be trimmed down in an effort to avoid a repeat of the three-day affair between Australia and New Zealand last summer.

It was kept long on that occasion to protect the pink ball, which is not as hardy as a traditional red cherry, but Australia’s captain Steven Smith and his New Zealand counterpart Brendon McCullum believed the ball would be no worse off for more extensive use of the lawn mower.

What would change, though, was the amount of seam movement on offer to the bowlers.

Groundsman Damian Hough said: ‘We’re bringing the starting height down and the finished height will be down another 2mm from last year.

‘In review of last year, which was a good learning experience, leaving the grass on it assisted the quicks a little bit more. We feel a couple millimetres less will hopefully still keep it a good contest between bat and ball, and that’s what we’re after.

The selection also confirms that Renshaw will be Warner’s third opening partner of the series. Warner, at 30 will be the oldest player on the field and Renshaw, at 20, the youngest.

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The day-night fixture will be followed by another two-day match with the red ball, as preparations step up a gear ahead of the opening Test against Australia at the WACA Ground in Perth on 3 November.

Proteas opening batsman Dean Elgar, who is one of the few squad members to have played with the pink ball during the South Africa A tour to Australia in August, says the squad is managing the challenges and adjusting to the uncharted territory of day-night Test cricket.

‘Today is our second practice with the pink ball,’ Elgar said at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. ‘I think yesterday was a good outing for us. We practised in the evening during the twilight period which has been a talking point so far. I think the guys are quite excited, it’s exciting to play some Test cricket again.

‘I played with the pink ball against the Australia A side a couple of months ago which was a good outing for myself knowing that we are playing in Australia now,’ he said. ‘It swings a little bit more upfront for longer periods, I think that is probably the only difference.’

Although the day-night Test match is the last fixture of the three-Test series, Elgar believes every session of preparation will be vital as the majority of the players make the shift from ODI to Test cricket.

The 29-year-old has made a full recovery from the freak ankle injury that sidelined him for the second Test match against New Zealand in August, which the Proteas won by 204 runs, and is eager to make an impact in Australia after a forgettable debut match in 2012.

‘I think we’ve given ourselves a lot of time coming to Australia before the first Test,’ he commented on the squad’s preparation. ‘It’s up to us how we manage it, we have to use our time wisely which we have been allocated by management. We will definitely have enough time to prepare for the first Test match.’

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

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