Test cricket may have seen the light in Adelaide but eyes will take some adjusting to what is left once the day-night circus leaves town for a more traditionally scheduled encounter against West Indies.
Australia snuck home in the dark with three wickets in hand. The winning runs were scored by Peter Siddle, his partner Mitchell Starc almost unable to hobble through for the two that brought up victory.
It was a drama contrived by a match in which batsmen were challenged and collectively failed. Only two managed to pass 50 in the game and so it was fitting that two bowlers finished the job. 
The players from both sides spent the evening carving up the million-dollar prize pool offered as a bribe to be guinea pigs in the historic event. Australia won the series 2-0 and pocketed $600,000, New Zealand $400,000 for showing up. A win for the Kiwis in this match was worth $100,000 as a 1-1 result would have seen the money split in half.
The Kiwis might have cursed DRS on day two, but they lost by a distance on day three and couldn't blame the intrigues of that system for two grassed chances and two sub-par batting performances.
NZ captain Brendon McCullum said the DRS error by third umpire Nigel Llong had affected his team.
"It definitely had a bearing on the game," he said. "You hope when mistakes are made they don't have a major bearing on the game but none of us are naive enough to overlook the fact it did.
"At the same time, to Australia's credit, they seized that opportunity, they were able to put on two very strong partnerships which gave them a short lead but more importantly time out of the game in terms of us having to bat under lights. It had a bearing but at the end we had an opportunity and weren't good enough to take it." The total crowd for the match was 123,736, which was 10,000 more than the match against India last year and thus the biggest for a non-Ashes match.
"It was certainly a very tense finish and thankfully we were on the right side of the green," Australia captain Steve Smith said .
"I think the whole Test match was a great innovation. A great spectacle. To get 120,000 people through the gates in three days is absolutely amazing." What was a great success for administrators, broadcasters and local hoteliers proved a significant test for the Australian players.
Injury and under-performance in some quarters have made things interesting. Just who will play against West Indies early next month is grounds for some speculation.
Both Mitchell Johnson and Starc will be missing from the attack. The first retired. The second broken. Starc did not last an innings in his new role as leader of the pack, the bone in his foot cracking under the strain. He will not be available for another Test at home this summer.
Siddle came into to the side because he is reliable, not a fancy sports car, more your Toyota Camry. Nothing fancy, but a vehicle that will start every time and make the longest of journeys without complaint.
Guess what? Siddle looks sore and struggled on the third day. The Victorian workhorse had a fitness test of sorts before play and moved gingerly about the field.
The good news was Josh Hazlewood, who was previously under a "workload" cloud, bowled as well as he ever has and was named man of the match. The 24-year-old took 3-66 in the first innings and followed up with a 6-70. He pitched the ball up, exploiting movement in the air and off the pitch against batsmen who could not leave well enough alone.
"He really stood up and bowled beautifully. Last night with the new ball he got it up there, he got it seaming and swinging around," Smith said. "We missed a few (catches) last night as well. He could have easily ended up with eight or nine (in the innings)." James Pattinson need only survive two days of Sheffield Shield cricket to waltz back into the side. He does so more for the memory of what he could do than for what he has done of late. That is not to say the Victorian is not a first-class bowler, but to highlight the fact he has played two full Shield games.
He began well enough after a delayed entry into the game in Perth, removing Cam Bancroft, who had started the summer as a Test hopeful.
The other stress fracture developing ahead of the Hobart match is who will and who should be batting at Bellerive.
The anxiety around the Australian innings when David Warner and Steve Smith made early exits yesterday is warning that the top order is not as sturdy as previous flat tracks have suggested.
Usman Khawaja is not expected to be fit until the Boxing Day Test which means somebody gets a chance in his spot.
The middle order Marshes have too often resembled a swamp. Shaun Marsh is there at the moment but is not comfortable. Before yesterday he had Test scores of 73, 1, 19, 13no, 11, 69, 0, 2 and 2. He and Adam Voges managed to settle nerves when the run chase got a wobble up and that is a bonus for the elder brother who went on to score 49 valuable runs, departing with victory in sight.
Mitch Marsh began the summer under instructions to prove he could bat a little better than he did in the winter. His 28 yesterday had a similarly calming effect.
Cate McGregor P30