Australia’s acting captain Steve Smith is seriously considering the use of NFL-style eye black to reduce glare and see the pink ball better during the forthcoming Ashes Test at the Gabba.
Usman Khawaja, meanwhile, joined teammates in convening for their first session in Brisbane, but did not come out to bat and left the session early.
Smith donned the eye black strips on the sidelines of Australia’s first training session before the Test that starts on Thursday, and batted with them for a long session against the pink ball sent down by coaches Andrew McDonald and Michael Di Venuto.
Veteran Australian batter Steve Smith with the eye black in the nets on Sunday.Credit: Channel Nine
The move reflects the challenge of picking up the pink ball under lights, but also Smith’s considerable influence from American sports, now that he calls Manhattan home.
Eye black was first tried in the 1930s by the legendary baseball slugger Babe Ruth, before it was picked up in the NFL by Andy Farkas during the 1940s.
It has since been a popular trademark for many NFL players, although studies of the measure’s effectiveness have been mixed.
Some players have confessed they actually use it as a way of presenting a more warlike “game face” to the opposition, while others have been sanctioned by American football authorities for writing inappropriate messages over the top of the strips.
Australia have a mixed record in pink ball games at the Gabba, having lost here to the West Indies in 2024, thrashed Sri Lanka in 2019 and only narrowly defeated Pakistan in 2016.
“It is always a challenge batting under lights when the ball is new, it is always difficult,” Smith said before the 2024 pink ball game here.
