The time is now for the pink ball. We are about to enter what could be another era in Test cricket's evolution as the BLACKCAPS and Australia get set to play a day/night Test for the first time, thus morphing into experimental guinea pigs. I am not here to express my views on whether Test cricket should or shouldn't make these changes, nor am I here to speculate on how the pink ball will impact this Test or how conditions under lights will influence the flow of runs and wickets.

There's a third and final Test between trans-Tasman rivals that we need to discuss. There's a series to level up for the kiwis and a series to win for Australia.

As I have alluded to a few times since the first Test in Brisbane, we simply haven't seen the BLACKCAPS players or team produce the goods. Instead of wondering how or why this is the case, I feel quite smug, safe in the knowledge that Australia are 1-0 in a series where a player like Trent Boult hasn't been at his best. Just as Davey Warner...

Pitches have been flat and Australia's batsmen have oozed quality, yet Boult has struggled to consistently hit probing areas outside off-stump for both right and left handers. We have seen Tim Southee lead this attack admirably, especially given Boult's lack of form while Doug Bracewell and Matt Henry also showed patches of tight lines and lengths, culminating in the build up of pressure and wicket-taking deliveries.

Even Boult's tally of six wickets in this series - along with Mark Craig that's the most of any kiwi bowler - is evidence of Boult getting it right for brief moments. The issue is that this bowling unit with Craig included has been unable to combine strong performances, backing each other up and earning wickets as a team. Who knows how this experiment will influence swing and seam movement; it doesn't really matter when you consider that we haven't seen the BLACKCAPS bowlers perform at their best as individuals and subsequently together.

This starts with the two bowlers who have made the BLACKCAPS one of the most exciting teams in Test cricket: Southee and Boult, who at their best swing the ball and don't offer much variety in terms of line and length. We haven't seen this tandem anywhere near their best so far.

Then the third-seamer must maintain the pressure and serve up his own threat, while Craig as the spinner needs to shut up shop. Craig is level with Boult in the wicket-tally but leaks runs far too easily and has allowed Australia's batsmen the opportunity to score freely without much risk as Craig has guaranteed at least one boundary-ball an over. This allows the batsmen to defend a good ball, safe in the knowledge that the next ball could be short and wide.

Bracewell has impressed and I expect him to maintain his sport as the third-seamer. The biggest question leading into this Adelaide Test, besides Boult's fitness is whether Neil Wagner comes into the side instead of Matt Henry, or if Mitchell Santner is brought in to be the all-rounder, again in the place of Henry. I want to see Wagner given the shot as he offers aggression and pace which has been missing so far, plus he loves to use reverse swing late in an innings which could be funky under lights.

Boult is chilling under an injury cloud and if he's unable to lace up then you would expect Wagner to replace Boult.

Playing Wagner, or Henry again means that the batting depth suffers which could work in Santner's favour. I like the pressure this puts on the batsmen though as there is greater responsibility on them to do their job, without the safety net of a longer batting line up. Any batting line up with Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling in it should be able to handle this pressure and find enough runs between them, especially if our openers make the most of their good work at the top of the order.

Just as the bowlers have struggled to produce the required accuracy and threat to take 20 wickets, Martin Guptill and Tom Latham haven't quite been as good as they would like. We must enjoy the fact that Guptill and Latham have done well to limit the damage done by the new ball, we must also expect half-centuries and hundys from these two once they have seen off the new ball. They, more than anyone will know that they can't rely on Williamson and Taylor to score big every time.

With all the hype, uncertainty and distractions that this day/night Test offers, the BLACKCAPS must solely worry on nailing a strong performance as a group. We hear the 'processes' cliche rolled out time and time again in sports and this should be the message drummed into the kiwi cricketers before and during this Test match. We simply don't know how the variables in influence this game, all the lads can do is worry about building pressure as a bowling attack and easing the load on other batsmen by doing your job. This has largely been absent in the first two Tests and there's no better time than an experimental Test to nail a sound team performance.