Why is Steve Smith wearing black tape under his eyes?

Australia batter Steve Smith has confirmed he will wear black strips of tape under his eyes for the second Ashes Test against England in Brisbane, after being photographed wearing the patches while batting in nets sessions this week.

He has since found out he was wearing the patches, known as 'eye black', incorrectly during the practice sessions.

The day-night Test will feature floodlights and the players will use a pink ball.

The patches have been used in the past by former West Indies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul to reduce the glare caused by the sun and improve contrast.

Eye black is commonly used in American sports, including American football, baseball and lacrosse.

Babe Ruth, one of baseball's greatest players, used it in the 1930s and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady famously wore paint under his eyes too.

"I actually messaged Shivnarine Chanderpaul and asked him what his thoughts were, whether he work the chalk or the strips, said Smith.

"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."

Does eye black actually work?

A number of tests have been conducted this century to determine whether eye black actually has an effect.

A 2008 episode of American science-entertainment television show MythBusters ran tests and found that they made no real difference compared to light coloured make-up.

Results changed after the subject put on a baseball cap, finding a noticeable reduction in the amount of light exposure. However, glare was not fully eliminated.

A separate study by Yale University found that the paint helped to reduce glare and improved contrast sensitivity, but that test was subject to unavoidable learning bias.

A second study by the University of New Hampshire reached an insignificant result due to testing a small sample size. But it did find that they only made an impact from short distances.

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