Steve Smith’s appearance at The Gabba prompted immediate curiosity on the second evening of the Ashes Test, not for his batting stance or meticulous routines, but for the conspicuous strips of black tape positioned beneath his eyes.
The 36-year-old, captaining Australia in Pat Cummins’ absence, entered under the pink-ball floodlights with what looked more like an NFL accessory than traditional cricket equipment.
The strips - known universally in American sports as “eye black” - are designed to reduce glare and sharpen contrast in bright or artificial light.
They are used widely in the NFL and Major League Baseball, though rarely in cricket, the most notable previous adopter being former West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
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Smith confirmed that the innovation was deliberate, researched and rooted in coping with the unique demands of day-night Test cricket.
"I actually messaged Shivnarine Chanderpaul and asked him what his thoughts were, whether he wore the chalk or the strips," Smith said beforehand.
Five things to know about the Ashes | PA"He said the strips, and he thinks it blocks out 65 per cent of the glare.
"And he also said, 'I've seen photos, and you're wearing them the wrong way'. So, yesterday, I put them on the right way.
"I agree with him. I think it certainly stops the glare. Yeah, I’ll be wearing them."
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Steve Smith hit a half-century for Australia while wearing the black tape on his face
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With Brisbane’s Test again staged under lights, Smith’s aim is simple: to pick up the fast-moving pink ball earlier and more cleanly, particularly during the unpredictable twilight period when visibility becomes a decisive factor.
Scientific debate around the exact effectiveness of eye black continues, but athletes who use it insist the strips help differentiate light from shadow, improving clarity at high speed.
For a player as methodical as Smith, even marginal gains are enough to justify the adjustment.
The Australian vice-captain elaborated on the difficulty of batting with the pink ball, explaining that the visual challenges change rapidly across the evening.
"It's a tricky one," he admitted.
"The ball reacts obviously differently to a red one. It can change quickly. It can start moving randomly.
Joe Root silenced his critics with a brilliant batting performance for England against Australia on day one of the second Ashes Test | PA"You've got to try and play what's in front of you at that time and when it does shift on you and the ball starts doing something different, you've got to try and come up with plans to counter that, whether it be more aggressive, whether it be going to your shell and trying to get through that period.
"Everyone's different. It's trying to be one step ahead when it does start to shift."
Smith’s decision comes during a Test in which Australia needed composure after England, buoyed by Joe Root’s century on the opening day, made a convincing first impression at the historic venue.
England opener Zak Crawley acknowledged the intensity of conditions under lights, saying later: “They [Root and Jofra Archer] got some crucial runs. A phenomenal effort and it puts us in a good position tomorrow.”
Smith, meanwhile, made an immediate return on his innovation: the eye-black strips accompanied him to a fluid half-century shortly after the dinner break.
Whether they stay for the remainder of the series remains to be seen, but after consulting Chanderpaul, Smith appears unlikely to abandon them while the pink ball keeps swinging under the glare.