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.
In cricket circles, eye black was also used by the West Indian batting stalwart Shivnarine Chanderpaul during the latter part of his career.
Former West Indies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul in 2006.Credit: Getty Images
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.
“I find with the pink ball batting at night is probably easier to see the ball … in the day I find it more difficult to see.
“I feel like I’m batting well, and hopefully I can make some good decisions this week and get a total.”
Loading
Smith did not return from the United States until a couple of weeks before the first Ashes Test, as the national selectors gave him room to spend more time in his adopted home rather than playing every Sheffield Shield round for New South Wales.
“I’ve got pretty much two weeks before my first game, which is probably too much these days,” Smith said when he got back to Sydney.
“Honestly, it takes me two hits to get sorted. I feel like I’m ready to go now.
“I’ve had three hits since I’ve been back. Everything feels good. I’ve been training quite hard, been doing a lot of lifting, trying to get a bit stronger. I did all my strength tests yesterday, and they’re all as good as they’ve ever been.
“I feel like I certainly get drained mentally quicker than I probably used to. Ten years ago, I loved to come back and play every single game that I could. I know that when I play a lot at the start, by the end of the summer I’m pretty cooked mentally and probably can’t produce the same performances as I suppose I did last summer.”