(LEFT) Steve Smith with the black anti-glare strips under his eyes while training for the 2nd Ashes Test match; Smith and Marnus Labuschagne leave the field after winning the first Ashes Test match against England in Perth. (AP Photo)The pink ball Test match does not take place in all countries globally, with Australia being the only country to host the match every summer. In such cases, cricketers add new aspects to their training methods to adapt to the challenges of playing under lights with a different coloured ball.
Australian batting talisman Steve Smith has begun his preparations for the second Test against England at Brisbane, which will be a pink ball affair, by putting on black anti-glare strips under his eyes while training for the match.
In a video shared by journalist Bharat Sundaresan on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, the 36-year-old could be seen entering the nets with the anti-glares and taking throwdowns from one of the support staff members.
Steve Smith is going the Shivnarine Chanderpaul way with eye stickers to contend with seeing the pink ball in the twilight period #Ashes pic.twitter.com/6DHrBCTmlB
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) November 30, 2025
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Smith had earlier spoken about the challenges of facing the pink ball, admitting that it was a tricky proposition for him as a batter.
“The pink ball is a completely different game. I find it quite tricky to pick up at certain times of the day, and it behaves very differently from a red ball,” he had said ahead of the pink ball Test match against West Indies in Jamaica, earlier this year.
The batter’s usage of the anti-glare strips is reminiscent of West Indian batting great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who also used them both while batting and fielding during his days as an active cricketer.
“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,” the former southpaw had told Gulf News in an interview in 2018.
The decision of Smith to use anti-glare eye strips came on the same day as England batter Joe Root questioned the
need to have a day-night pink ball Test in the Ashes. Smith will lead Australia in the second Test that starts on December 4.
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