The Snicko technology was back in the spotlight on day two of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.
The technology came in for some criticism yesterday (day one), as Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey was given not out caught behind by the TV umpire after replays showed a spike indicating a noise came before the ball had come within the vicinity of Carey's bat or glove.
Carey admitted at the post-play press conference that "I thought there was a bit of a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat," and that had he been given out on field, "would have reviewed it, probably not confidently". He went on to make 106, taking Australia to 371.
Following Carey's press conference, BBG Sports, the company operating Snicko, took responsibility for the mix-up and put it down to operator error. On the second morning, it was confirmed that England were also given back the player review that they lost in the process.
'Snicko needs to be sacked'
This, however, was not the end of the controversy. In the 44th over of England's batting innings, Pat Cummins bounced Jamie Smith, who unsuccessfully attempted to duck. The ball struck him and ballooned up to the slip cordon, where Usman Khawaja grabbed it and claimed a catch. Australia appealed, and the umpires, satisfied it had hit Smith on the glove, asked the TV umpire to check whether Khawaja had taken the catch cleanly.
In the process of checking, Chris Gaffaney in the booth deemed that the ball had hit Smith on the helmet, from evidence given by Snicko. A side-on replay, however, seemed to show quite clearly that it had hit the batter's glove. Once Gaffaney ruled it was off the helmet, the fairness of the catch was rendered irrelevant, and therefore did not need to be checked.
"We checked for a fair catch, because we feel it's off the glove. But he [Gaffaney] says it's not off the glove, it's off the helmet," umpire Nitin Menon said to the Australian players, as picked up by a stump mic. One of the players responded with frustration: "Snicko needs to be sacked! That's the worst technology... [inaudible]."
In any case, initial visual evidence suggested that the catch may not have been taken fairly.
Jamie Smith fumes after dismissal
But if Australia counted that as a reprieve for Smith, they had their man less than two overs later. This time, it was Smith's turn to be incensed at the technology.
Smith attempted to pull a delivery from Cummins, and as it went through to the keeper, Australia went up in appeal for a catch. Once again, before making a call, the on-field umpires requested the TV umpire to check whether the catch had been taken cleanly.
This time, when Gaffaney viewed the replay, Snicko showed a spike just after the ball passed Smith's bat, despite there apparently being a clear gap between bat and ball on the relevant frame. The umpire went with the technology to say that Smith had hit it, and the catch was taken cleanly as well.
As the decision went upstairs, Australia's Travis Head was heard saying, "He's given it out, he's checking the catch," in response to a teammate questioning, "What's going on?"
Smith himself stood at the batting crease, and was ready to review the decision in the event that the on-field umpires had given him out. That, of course, became a moot point once the TV umpire checked all facets of the dismissal and ruled him out.
The batter shook his head as the decision came up on the big screen, and walked off disappointedly. His batting partner, England skipper Ben Stokes, stood motionless in the middle, arms crossed and head down, seemingly in exasperation.
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