England fume as Snickometer glitch saves Alex Carey in Adelaide Ashes Test

England were weighing up whether to formally approach the match referee over the use of Snickometer technology in Australia after the company supplying the system accepted responsibility for a possible operational mistake on the opening day of the third Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval.

The controversy centred on Australia wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey, who was batting on 72 when he appeared to edge the first delivery of the 63rd over from Josh Tongue. England’s fielders, led by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, appealed immediately for a catch behind. On-field umpire Ahsan Raza turned the appeal down, prompting England to go upstairs for a review.



Replays using Real-Time Snickometer showed a distinct spike, but it appeared several frames before the ball passed the bat. Third umpire Chris Gaffaney explained during the review that the spike occurred “before the bat” and that the ball seemed to have gone “well under” the edge, concluding there was “a clear gap” and no evidence to overturn the decision.

Carey went on to make the most of the let-off, adding 34 more runs on his way to a century. After the day’s play, the Australian admitted he believed he had made contact with the ball.

“I thought there was a bit of a feather or some sort of noise as it went past the bat,” Carey said. “It looked strange on the replay with the sound coming early. If I’d been given out, I probably would have reviewed it, though not with full confidence. There was a nice sound as it went past.”

Carey also made it clear that walking was not part of his approach. “Snicko didn’t line up, did it? That’s cricket sometimes. You need a bit of luck, and maybe it went my way today,” he added.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Warren Brennan, founder of BBG Sports, the company responsible for Snickometer in Australian Tests, told The Age that an operator error was the likely cause. Brennan said the most plausible explanation was that the wrong stump microphone had been selected for audio processing and confirmed that BBG Sports accepted full responsibility for the mistake.

On the field, Australia closed the opening day strongly at 326 for 8 after choosing 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 one scalp.