Steven Smith will be captaining Australia in the Ashes 2025-26 for the second Test as well, as Pat Cummins continues to be unavailable. And while he is expected to be among the runs and lead by example for the upcoming game at the Gabba, Brisbane, a very uncanny thing has come to notice regarding the unorthodox batter, as he will be carrying the eye blacks while batting — something Shivnarine Chanderpaul is best known for.

Since the pictures of Smith sporting eye blacks at the practice sessions ahead of the second encounter went viral, Chanderpaul had a conversation with the Australian batter regarding the correct way to carry the strips. Notably, Smith himself had reached out to the West Indies veteran regarding the best way to use eye blacks, and the latter was very kind to pass on his wisdom. 

“I actually messaged Shivnarine Chanderpaul and asked him what his thoughts were, whether he wore the chalk or the strips. He said the strips, and he thinks it blocks out 65% 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,” Smith was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Smith will be seen carrying eye blacks on the field for the first time in his Test career, since the Brisbane encounter will be a Day-Night affair. The experienced batter has cited that the blacks will help him reduce the glare considerably, and eventually get some runs under difficult conditions, as the Pink Ball is relatively more helpful for the pacers.

Chanderpaul is the most famous batter to have used the eye blacks throughout his active international career. While it was more about his technique and temperament, the blacks have played a part in him becoming only the second player after the great Brian Lara to cross the 10000-run mark in Tests for the West Indies. He also maintained a batting average at 51.37 after 164 Tests and close to 12000 runs.