Snicko Error Ruins England’s Chances in Crucial Ashes Test

The operator of Snicko technology has admitted to an error that allowed Australia’s Alex Carey to escape a possible dismissal on the opening day of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

Carey went on to score 106 as Australia reached 326 for eight, but his innings nearly ended earlier when England appealed for a catch behind off the bowling of Josh Tongue. On-field umpire Ahsan Raza turned down the appeal, and the decision was reviewed.

Although stump microphones picked up a spike in sound, replays showed the noise occurred before the ball passed Carey’s bat. As a result, TV umpire Chris Gaffaney upheld the on-field decision.

BBG Sports, the company that owns Snicko, later accepted responsibility for the mistake. The incident happened in the 63rd over, with Australia at 245 for six. BBG confirmed that the wrong stump microphone had been selected for audio processing.

“Given that Alex Carey admitted he had hit the ball in question, the only conclusion is that the Snicko operator selected the wrong stump mic,” BBG Sports said. “We take full responsibility for the error.”

Carey said he felt there was “a bit of a feather or some sort of noise” as the ball passed his bat, but admitted the replay looked unusual because the sound came early.

England’s Australian bowling coach, David Saker, raised concerns about the reliability of Snicko during the series and said the issue could be taken to the match referee.

“The boys were pretty confident he hit it,” Saker said. “I think the calibration of Snicko is off. There have been things that don’t really measure up, and at that stage it was a very important decision.”

England, led by Ben Stokes, trail 2–0 in the five-Test series and now face a tough challenge to stay in the contest.