Cricket Australia is considering using a pink ball for the first time in the Prime Minister's XI game to assist New Zealand ahead of the historic day-night Test match.
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The PM's XI game will be moved to earlier in the summer with World Cup runners-up New Zealand the likely opponents, but a date hasn't been locked in.
The game will be one of the first of New Zealand's Australian tour ahead of a three-Test series starting at the Gabba on November 5.
But the most intriguing fixture is the Test match under lights at the Adelaide Oval on November 27.
Cricket Australia acting chief executive Mike McKenna said there was a chance the pink Kookaburra ball would be used in the PM's XI game.
"The conversation we will have in New Zealand cricket is about what's best about their entire preparation for their Test campaign," McKenna said.
"They're taking this very seriously, this is their Ashes.
"They are bringing a very good side and they'll be very competitive.
"They're not just thinking about the pink ball, they're thinking about what the summer as a whole looks like, so getting the right preparation is the key."
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has posed doubts about the pink ball, claiming it is unsuitable and may pose a serious threat to the integrity and quality of the game.
Starc played in the most recent trialling of the concept last summer in a Sheffield Shield clash at Adelaide Oval.
"Personally, I couldn't see the thing at night on the boundary," Starc told News Limited.
"I couldn't see the ball.
"So I'm not sure how the crowd are going to see it."
Moving the PM's XI game to earlier in the summer also avoids clashing with the Twenty20 Big Bash League.
In recent years, the quality of the PM's XI team has been affected by who is available, with BBL franchises reluctant to lose their best players for key games.
"The time of year we play this one is more about spreading the season out," McKenna said.
"It's also about providing playing opportunities for New Zealand as well as we lead into their Test series.
"We think everybody who pulls on the Prime Minister's XI shirt is doing their very best for the team and for the country and to make it very difficult for the opposition for their series ahead."
The PM's XI game will be the start of a summer which will include the Australian team in either a one-day or Twenty20 international for the next four years as part of an agreement between Cricket Australia and the ACT Government.
It comes after Canberra responded strongly to three World Cup games, an Australian ODI and the BBL final.
"The question is what other content can we bring to Canberra?" McKenna said.
"We had six matches here last summer which is a lot more content than we've had here before.
"Three of those games were sold out.
"That tells us there's a population here with an appetite for cricket."
