These days he may be a proud New Yorker. However, when Steve Smith takes on the pink ball under lights during this week’s second Test in Brisbane, this far-off Milwaukee link might prove to be a huge help.
The Australian captain’s search for Eye Black, a baseball-style black sticker, under his eyes began with Nathan Lyon, though, before we get into the American side of the story. The veteran Test spinner’s amazing relationships with Australia’s differently abled cricket players are even more noteworthy.
As it happens, Smith had been searching for a way to cope with the off-field glare when batting against the pink ball under lights. First, Smith was going to draw lines under his eyes with a black zinc eye stick. However, that was deferred due to worries that the humid Brisbane weather may smudge or wipe them off.
Lyon, the National Inclusion Ambassador for Cricketers with a Disability, then asked another off-spinner for help. Sean Walsh has played cricket for the Australian Deaf team for a long time. However, he also manages media for the Brisbane Bandits, one of the original teams of the Australian Baseball League.
“A week prior to Australia’s first session at the Gabba, Gaz (Lyon) contacted me to ask if I could help secure some eye stickers for Steve. Walsh told Cricbuzz, “And I knew exactly the guy who could sort it out.”
For the record, the Bandits and the Milwaukee Brewers, a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in the central division, have had a solid 30-year relationship. In fact, one of their own, Shaun O’Brien, a former Milwaukee club house attendant, is now the Bandits’ executive officer and resides in Brisbane. However, O’Brien was unaware of Steve Smith’s identity or the significance of day-night Test cricket when Walsh contacted him to request eye stickers.
“Shaun did, however, consent to assist us. We didn’t have any handy in our clubhouse because we play all of our baseball during the day. Thus, he contacted Leading Edge, a Redcliffe-based family-run baseball and softball supply company. Walsh, who bowled the nets for Australia on Sunday, says, “And that’s how we were able to secure the eye stickers for Steve Smith.” Walsh introduced them to Australia’s top Test batsman. And as we approach the pink-ball day-night Test in Brisbane, Steve Smith will receive a significant influx of eye blacks as requested over the course of the next several days.
It’s interesting that Steve Smith didn’t wear the eye stickers when he first started his session. Instead, he had to deal with a few deliveries before complaining that the lights at the Gabba nets or the glare off the ground were bothering him. His teammates cheered and hooted enthusiastically as he returned with the “Shivnarines” on, as Marnus Labuschagne would later call them. Not surprisingly, Australia’s No. 3 took the lead and called Steve Smith “Shiv” throughout the remainder of the session.
Steve Smith said, “I can actually see the ball,” as he middled the first delivery he later encountered while wearing the stickers. Even if he needed to make a few changes halfway through, that was sufficient to persuade him to continue with them for the remainder of his session.
Everyone in attendance had their take on Steve Smith newest addition, and it became the topic of conversation during Australia’s training session four days before the second Test. And it carried over into Monday’s session in the glaring sun, with Smith even making fun of the possibility of obtaining sponsors for his stickers in the same manner that Chanderpaul had done in his prime.
Although not all users have experienced the advantages that Smith appears to have over the past two days, baseball players frequently utilise the eye black to distinguish between light and dark, even during the day. Additionally, he is most likely to wear them when the Gabba Test begins on Thursday. Labuschagne had seconded his batting partner’s desire to do the same.
Milwaukee’s O’Brien didn’t know how famous Steve Smith is until he watched videos of the stickers he had planned go viral on social media.
“Shaun was taken aback by the millions of views online and told me, right so this guy really is a big deal,” Walsh jokes.
And on Thursday, when Steve Smith elevates his American connections by bringing some baseball flair to the Ashes with some Brewer Fever, those eye blacks will only gain much more traction.
India
