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Controversy erupts in Ashes after Alex Carey wrongly given not out; Snicko owner takes ‘full responsibility’ for error
Alex Carey, who survived the drama, went on to score his maiden Ashes century as Australia bounced back from 94-4 to 326-8.
The opening day of the third Ashes Test match between England and Australia in Adelaide witnessed a controversial moment after wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey was wrongly not given out en route to his maiden century in the rivalry clash. Snicko later took "full responsibility", claiming it was an operating error that cost England.
The incident occurred on the first ball of the 63rd over when Josh Tongue bowled a length delivery outside off stump to Carey, who was batting on 72. The Australian flashed his bat at the ball, prompting a loud appeal from England, with wicketkeeper Jamie Smith particularly confident of an under-edge. On-field umpire Ahsan Raza, however, remained unmoved.
The decision was reviewed, but the snickometer showed no spike when the ball passed the bat. Instead, a spike appeared when the ball was nowhere near it. As a result, TV umpire Chris Gaffaney advised Raza to stay with his original not-out call. Carey later admitted that he had edged the delivery.
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On being sent upstairs for a review, the snickometer showed that there was no spike when the ball was close to the bat. In fact, there was a big spike on Snicko when the ball was nowhere near the bat. Hence, TV Umpire Chris Gaffaney advised Raza to stick with his original decision of not out. However, Carey later admitted that he had edged the delivery.
After the end of Day 1's play at the Adelaide Oval, BBG Sports, the company that owns Snicko, took full responsibility for the error. "Given that Alex Carey admitted he had hit the ball in question, the only conclusion that can be drawn from this, is that the Snicko operator at the time must have selected the incorrect stump mic for audio processing," the company was quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "In light of this, BBG Sports takes full responsibility for the error."
According to the BBC report, the sound used for the review was taken from the stump mic at the bowler's end, rather than from the striker's end, which caused the error; hence, the Snicko spike did not line up with the video replay.
Carey, who survived the drama, went on to score his maiden Ashes century as Australia bounced back from 94-4 to 326-8.
"I thought there was a bit of a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat. It looked a bit funny on the replay didn't it? With the noise coming early. But if I was given out I think I would have reviewed it, probably not confidently though. It was a nice sound as it passed the bat. Snicko obviously didn't line up, and that's just the way cricket goes sometimes," the Aussie told the reporters at the end of Day 1 in Adelaide.
Snicko has already been at the centre of multiple controversies in the series. In the opening Test in Perth, Jamie was adjudged caught behind even though replays suggested the Snicko spike came after the ball had gone past the bat. The TV umpire took nearly five minutes to reach a verdict, with Sharfuddoula visibly wavering before ultimately deciding against overturning the on-field call.
England bowling coach David Saker said: "I don't think we [England] have done anything about it so far but after today, maybe that might go a bit further. There have been concerns about it for the whole series. We shouldn't be talking about that after a day's play. It should just be better than that."
