After England head coach Brendon McCullum and team manager Wayne Bentley held talks with match referee Jeff Crowe, they had their review reinstated after Snicko technology operators took responsibility
of a malfunction on the first day of the 3rd Test against Australia that led denied the visitors the wicket of Alex Carey.
Carey, who scored 106 in Australia’s first innings, had a fortunate escape when he was on 72. England appealed for a caught behind off Josh Tongue’s bowling, which was turned down by the umpire Ahsan Raza.
Although stump microphones detected a clear sound, the replay revealed the noise occurred before the ball passed Carey’s bat, leading TV umpire Chris Gaffaney to uphold the on-field decision.
Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg labelled the Snicko technology error during the Ashes Test as “not good enough”.
Post-match, Carey suggested he had indeed hit the ball.
BBG Sports, the company behind Snicko, accepted responsibility for the error. Greenberg expressed his frustration on SEN radio, stating that technology is meant to eliminate major errors. He attributed the issue to human error and stated, “There are two human errors here – the umpire’s decision and the supposed failsafe with the technology, which failed. It’s not good enough.”
Greenberg further mentioned that questions were being raised with the provider through broadcasters to ensure such mistakes are not repeated. The controversy led match referee Jeff Crowe to reinstate a review for England, allowing them to start day two with two reviews rather than one.
Former England captain Mike Atherton urged for calm, writing in The London Times that mistakes are part of the game, especially for those who grew up in an era where human error by umpires was common. He noted that errors, likely caused by human input, are inevitable in the system, whether on the field or in the television trucks.
With AFP Inputs
