An officiating error involving bat-detection technology overshadowed Alex Carey’s breakthrough innings on the opening day of the third Ashes Test, after it was confirmed that Australia’s keeper-batter should have been dismissed following an England review.
Carey played a pivotal role in lifting Australia to 326 for eight in Adelaide, reaching a maiden Ashes century in the process. His innings nearly ended earlier when England appealed for a catch behind from Josh Tongue’s bowling. On-field umpire Ahsan Raza rejected the appeal, prompting an immediate review from the fielding side.
Broadcast replays revealed an audible noise as the ball passed the bat, accompanied by a visible spike on the Snicko system used to assess edges. However, they didn’t align, resulting in the noise being registered before the visuals. Courtesy of the same, third umpire Chris Gaffaney upheld the not out verdict, determining that the spike appeared before the ball reached Carey’s bat. At the time of the review, Carey had made 72 and later advanced to 106.
Carey notes that there could be a feather touch
After the end of the day’s play, Carey acknowledged uncertainty about the delivery, suggesting he was not convinced of his innocence.
“I thought there was a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat. If I was given out, I think I would have reviewed it, probably not confidently. It was a nice sound as it passed the bat,” Carey said in the press conference.
Subsequent clarification arrived later on Wednesday when BBG Sports, the company responsible for Snicko, accepted fault for the incident. According to the firm, the audio feed was mistakenly sourced from the bowler’s-end stump microphone, causing a delay that misaligned sound and vision during the review process.
“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. In light of this, BBG Sports takes full responsibility for the error.” BBG sport said.
Before the admission, England’s bowling coach David Saker indicated the touring side had ongoing concerns about the reliability of the technology and did not rule out formal action.
"I don't think we've done anything about it so far but after today, maybe that might go a bit further. 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,” Saker said.