Alex Carey was given not out on 72 after edging Josh Tongue behind due to an error in the way the TV ‘Snicko’ replay was shown, leaving England considering a complaint
England were left furious after a human error was blamed for Alex Carey getting away with edging behind at the Adelaide Oval. Carey made a crucial 106 as Australia finished day one of the third Ashes Test on 326-8, but should have been dismissed on 72.
The Australia wicket-keeper appeared to edge a Josh Tongue delivery behind to Jamie Smith when the home side were on 245-6. England appealed but it was given not out by umpire Ahsan Raza, forcing Ben Stokes to send the decision upstairs for a review.
The replay showed a spike on the ‘Snicko’ – the technology used to tell if there was contact with the bat. But the spike came a few frames before the ball passed the bat, forcing TV umpire Chris Gaffaney to stick with the on-field decision.
England were bemused and angry with the call, especially as Jamie Smith had been given out in a similar incident the first Test at Perth when the spike came well after the ball passed his bat and gloves. It has now emerged that the technology operator accidentally used the stump mic audio from the bowlers’ end, meaning the sound didn’t match up with the pictures.
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“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,” BBG told BBC Sport. “In light of this, BBG Sports takes full responsibility for the error.”
Carey isn’t popular with the England supporters after infamously and controversially running out Jonny Bairstow in the 2023 Ashes. And he likely didn’t endear himself further with his post-match comments, in which he admitted he hit the ball.
“I thought there was a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat,” said Carey. “It looked a bit funny on the replay, with the noise coming early. I think if I was given out I would have reviewed it, probably not confidently though. It was a nice sound as it passed the bat.”
Asked how he got away with it, he added: “Snicko obviously didn’t line up. Just the way cricket goes sometimes isn’t it? You have a bit of luck and maybe it went my way this time.” Asked if he was a walker, Carey joked: “Clearly not!”
England bowling coach David Saker hinted that the tourists may contact match referee Jeff Crowe to make their complaints heard. ‘Snicko’ has been a constant talking point throughout the series, with complaints it has not lined up with the TV pictures.
“I don’t think we’ve done anything about it so far but after today, maybe that might go a bit further,” Saker said. “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. It is what it is.”
The replay of the incident caused confusion for fans and commentators alike. Watching it on BBC Test Match Special, former England captain Michael Vaughan said: “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.”
