Ashes 2025-26: Steve Smith experiments with eye black to counter pink-ball glare in day-night Test

Steve Smith. (Photo Source: Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Steven Smith attempted to emulate former West Indies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul by wearing eye black on his cheeks during the second Ashes Test at the Gabba. He tested the anti-glare strips while batting in the nets during Australia’s floodlit training session on Sunday evening, ahead of Thursday’s day-night pink-ball fixture in Brisbane.

Smith has featured in 13 of Australia’s 14 previous pink-ball Tests but has not enjoyed the same level of success he has in traditional red-ball cricket. He has scored just one century in 24 day-night Test innings, averaging 37.04. In contrast, his daytime Test record is exceptional, with 35 centuries in 190 innings and an average of 58.31.

“The pink ball in general is just a completely different game. Personally, I find it quite tricky just picking the ball up at certain times of the day and things like that, and the way it behaves is completely different to a red one,” Smith said during Australia’s most recent day-night Test match against West Indies as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“I think people like the spectacle. But as a player, particularly as a batter, it’s very challenging. The game can change so quickly, and things change really quickly, which you probably don’t get so much with a red ball. But yeah, people like watching it, I suppose, so I guess it’s here to stay,” he added,

The eye blacks, small, black adhesive strips worn on the cheekbones, that Smith used in training are common in several American sports. They are designed to reduce the glare from floodlights by absorbing light that would otherwise reflect off the skin. In cricket, Chanderpaul is the most notable player to have used them in the past.

“I always used it whenever it was very glary. I stick them on and it does help take 60-70 percent of the glare off my eyes, and that was good for me,” said Chanderpaul in Gulf News in 2008.

Alastair Cook, who played three day-night Tests for England, has noted that the biggest challenge for batters is tracking the pink ball’s black seam, which becomes harder to pick up under glare.

“When the floodlights shine off the pink leather, it distracts from focusing on the black seam – and if you can’t see the seam as a batsman, you’re in big trouble. Whatever type of cricket you are playing, the seam is your clue as to how the ball will behave… At least you have a chance with a red ball. If it’s a pink one under lights, it’s nigh-on impossible to pick up the seam and, therefore, decide with confidence which way the ball might move,” Cook wrote in a Sunday Times column.

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