BRISBANE, Australia (AP) 鈥� Now that he’s worked out that he had them upside down, Steve Smith is more confident about wearing the black strips under his eyes while batting in the day-night Ashes cricket test at the Gabba starting Thursday.
More commonly used by footballers playing under lights, the black strips are part of Smith’s attempt to leave nothing to chance facing the pink ball against England’s bowling attack in changing light conditions.
The Australians are coming off an in Perth, which finished on Day 2 after Ben Stokes’ England lineup wasted strong momentum at several stages while pursuing an attack-at-all-costs Bazball routine.
Smith is expecting more of the same from England. He said his lineup would also offer more of the Aussie approach to the game, describing it as a more pragmatic focus on playing to the conditions.
Hence, his new look 鈥� one he borrowed from ex-West Indies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul and which gained plenty of attention around cricket circles when he experimented with it at practice this week.
鈥淚 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,” Smith said Wednesday at the captain’s news conference on the eve of the second test. 鈥淗e also said 鈥業鈥檝e seen photos and you鈥檙e wearing them the wrong way.鈥�
“So yesterday I put them on the right way and … I agree. It certainly stops the glare and yeah, I鈥檒l be wearing them.鈥�
Australian XI
The Australians have been forced into at least one change after of the second test because of back problems that curtailed his participation in Perth last week, with most pundits predicting a return for Josh Inglish in the middle order and continuing as an opener after his starring role in the first test.
Australia is delaying until the toss, leaving Smith to deal with speculation about injured skipper being rushed back into the lineup from outside the match squad. He fielded multiple questions without giving a definitive answer.
Cummins missed the first test with a back injury and was left out of the original squad for the second, but joined stand-in captain Smith and coach Andrew McDonald for a pitch inspection Wednesday.
鈥淗e looks pretty good to me, the way he鈥檚 bowled in the nets,鈥� Smith said of Cummins. “Obviously games are a different intensity. He鈥檚 tracking really nicely, he knows his body well. We鈥檒l wait and see.鈥�
The Gabba
The Australians have an excellent record in day-night test matches, with the only one blemish. That was an in January of last year at the Gabba, a ground where the Australians have been otherwise close to unbeatable for decades.
England hasn’t won an Ashes test at the Brisbane venue since 1986, and hasn’t won a test on Australian soil since the 2010-11 series.
Stokes has vowed to maintain England’s 鈥渂lueprint鈥� for attacking approach, which was heavily criticized in Perth. Asked to describe Australia’s way, Smith kept it simple.
鈥淎dapting to conditions and what鈥檚 in front of us 鈥� playing the game in real time,鈥� he said. “That鈥檚 one thing this team鈥檚 done really well for a period of time, been able to sum up the conditions, play what鈥檚 in front in live time.
鈥淎nd I think if you do that in test cricket, it holds you in pretty good stead.鈥�
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