Australia captain Steve Smith has taken to wearing black tape under his eyes for the day-night Ashes Test in Brisbane, following advice from West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Smith, who scored 17 and 2 not out in Australia’s eight-wicket win in Perth, hopes the anti-glare strips will improve his vision and help him track the pink ball more effectively. The move comes after he messaged Chanderpaul, who famously used similar strips during his Test career.
“He said it was the strips, and he thinks it blocks out 65 per cent of the glare,” Smith explained. “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.”
Smith, ranked fourth in Test batting, has an average of 37.04 in day-night Tests compared to 58.31 in day matches, and admitted the conditions can be tricky. “It’s hard to bat all the time… the ball reacts obviously differently to a red one,” he said.
