England angered as Snickometer glitch saves Alex Carey in Adelaide Ashes Test | Cricket News

England were considering whether to formally contact the match referee over the use of Snickometer technology in Australia after the company supplying the system accepted responsibility for a possible operational error on the opening day of the third Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval. The controversy centered on the batting of Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who was batting on 72 when he appeared to edge the first delivery of Josh Tongue’s 63rd over. England’s fielders, led by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, immediately called for a catch behind. On-field umpire Ahsan Raza rejected the appeal, prompting England to go upstairs for a review.

Replays using the real-time Snickometer showed a distinct spike, but it appeared several frames before the ball passed the stick. Third umpire Chris Gaffaney explained during the review that the spike occurred “before the bat” and the ball appeared to have gone “well below” the edge, concluding there was “a clear gap” and no evidence to overturn the decision. Carey continued to make the most of the break, adding 34 more points on her way to a century. After the day’s play, the Australian admitted he thought he had touched the ball. “I thought there was a little feather or some kind of noise when it went past the bat,” Carey said. “It looked strange on replay with the sound coming in early. If I had been given it, I probably would have watched it again, but not with confidence. There was some nice sound in passing.” Carey also clarified that walking was not part of her approach. “Snicko didn’t field, did he? That’s cricket sometimes. You need a bit of luck, and maybe it happened like that today,” he added. According to ESPNcricinfo, Warren Brennan, founder of BBG Sports, the company responsible for the Snickometer in Australian Tests, said Age that operator error was the likely cause. Brennan said the most plausible explanation was that the wrong microphone had been selected for audio processing and confirmed that BBG Sports accepted full responsibility for the error. On the field, Australia closed the opening day strongly at 326 for 8 after opting to bat first. Carey scored 106, while Usman Khawaja contributed 82. For England, Jofra Archer was the standout bowler with figures of 3 for 23, while Brydon Carse and Will Jacks picked up two wickets each. Josh Tongue claimed a scalp.