England have been handed back a crucial review in the third Ashes Test after a significant technology failure denied them the wicket of Australia's Alex Carey on the opening day in Adelaide.
How the Snicko blunder unfolded
On the first day at the Adelaide Oval, England believed they had dismissed Alex Carey when he appeared to edge a delivery from Ollie Robinson through to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. The tourists immediately called for a review after the on-field umpire gave it not out.
However, the Decision Review System (DRS) process failed them. The technology operated by BBG Sports, which provides the Real-Time Snicko (RTS) for Tests in Australia, suffered a critical error. One of the operators selected the wrong stump microphone for audio processing, causing the audio and visual data to be misaligned.
This meant the tell-tale spike on the Snickometer appeared before the ball passed the bat, leading the third umpire to uphold the original not-out decision. Carey, then on 72, survived and went on to score a century, reaching 106 before eventually being dismissed.
The admission and immediate consequences
The scale of the error was confirmed when Carey himself all but admitted he had edged the ball. Following the day's play, match referee Jeff Crowe took the unprecedented step of reinstating England's lost review.
With each team allowed three unsuccessful challenges per innings, England's tally was restored to two before play began on the second day, with Australia's first innings standing at 326 for eight.
The controversy prompted immediate high-level discussions. England's head coach Brendon McCullum and team manager Wayne Bentley met with Crowe at the close of play. Furthermore, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced it would hold talks with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to review DRS protocols, aiming to improve decision-making processes and prevent such errors in future.
Broader implications for DRS technology
This incident has thrown a spotlight on the differing technologies used in world cricket. Australian broadcasters utilise the RTS system involved in this error, while Sky Sports in the UK employs the Ultra Edge technology. The ECB had previously chosen to fund Ultra Edge themselves for home series.
The episode raises serious questions about the consistency and reliability of the tools used to make pivotal decisions in international sport. As the Ashes series continues, all eyes will be on the DRS process, with calls for a thorough investigation and standardisation of technology across the global game.
