Melbourne: Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland wants players to remain open-minded about day-night test matches during the 2017-18 Ashes series in Australia. Sutherland said he respected the concern of Australia captain Steve Smith and others, but reiterated that a pink-ball Ashes test would be a "natural progression."

James Sutherland. Pic/ AFP

Australia hosted the first day-night test at the Adelaide Oval last year, beating New Zealand in a low-scoring match. The venue will host another day-night test in November, after South African players ended weeks of debate by agreeing Wednesday to be involved. Today, Sutherland said day-night tests will allow for bigger audiences at the matches and on television and predicted there'd be "somewhere between zero and two" day-night tests during the next Ashes series.