England's cricketers were left seething on the first day of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide after a glaring technological blunder gifted Australian wicket-keeper Alex Carey a crucial reprieve.
Controversial Reprieve Mars Day One
With Australia on 245 for 6, England fast bowler Josh Tongue found the edge of Carey's bat on 72, with the catch taken cleanly by Jamie Smith. Umpire Ahsan Raza gave it not out, prompting England captain Ben Stokes to immediately review.
The replay on the big screen showed a clear spike on the UltraEdge 'Snicko' technology, which is designed to detect contact between bat and ball. However, the audio spike appeared several frames before the ball passed the bat, leading TV umpire Chris Gaffaney to uphold the original decision due to the apparent misalignment.
Carey, who is already a contentious figure with England fans following the Jonny Bairstow stumping in 2023, capitalised fully on the error. He went on to score a vital 106, helping Australia finish the day on a strong total of 326 for 8.
Human Error Behind the Chaos
The confusion was later explained by the technology provider, BBG Sports. They admitted that the operator had accidentally selected the stump microphone audio from the bowler's end for processing, rather than the correct one at the batsman's end. This meant the sound was not synchronised with the pictures.
"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," a BBG statement read, accepting full responsibility.
Carey himself added fuel to the fire in his post-match comments, admitting he had felt a nick. "I thought there was a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat," he said. "It looked a bit funny on the replay... Snicko obviously didn't line up. Just the way cricket goes sometimes."
England's Fury and Threat of Complaint
The incident has intensified England's long-standing concerns about the consistency of the Snicko technology throughout the series. They were particularly aggrieved given that Jamie Smith was given out in a similar scenario during the first Test in Perth when the spike appeared after the ball passed.
England's bowling coach, David Saker, hinted strongly that the tourists would escalate the matter. "I don't think we've done anything about it so far but after today, maybe that might go a bit further," Saker stated. "There have been concerns about it for the whole series. We shouldn't be talking about this after a day's play, it should just be better than that."
The confusion was palpable for viewers and pundits. On BBC Test Match Special, former England captain Michael Vaughan summed up the bewilderment, saying: "It can’t be anything else surely? Well, that’s remarkable. He hasn’t hit it, but there is a massive spike just before the ball gets to the bat."
The controversy has cast a shadow over the day's play and sets the stage for further tension, with England now considering a formal approach to match referee Jeff Crowe.
