A series of controversial decisions using Snicko have come to a head in the third Ashes Test, with Mitchell Starc calling for the technology to be "sacked" on the second day of play in Adelaide.
After some discontent at decisions in the first two Tests, the reliability of the technology was called into question in the third. England had a review reinstated ahead of day two, after the company which owns Snicko admitted to an operator error which gave Alex Carey a reprieve on day one. On day two, Australia players were left frustrated after Jamie Smith as given not out to a catch off Pat Cummins' bowling, which was ruled not to have hit his glove, with England then aggrieved when Smith was given out not long after.
Chief executive of Cricket Australia Todd Greenberg told SEN Radio at the end of play: "We don't think it's good enough, and we definitely think that we need to be assured that it won't happen again".
The ECB are reportedly planning to lobby the ICC over its protocols for use of DRS technology following the errors.
While Adelaide has seen the most obvious mistakes from Snicko, there have been several marginal calls in the series which have led to growing frustrations over the technology.
1st Test, Perth
Australia 1st innings
11.5 – Carse to Labuschagne: The first instance of controversy came in the second innings of the series. Marnus Labuschagne was on nine, 12 overs into Australia's reply to England's 172 when he faced an appeal for caught behind. He was given not out on the field and England chose to review it. Despite a sliver of daylight between bat and ball, there was a murmuring on Snicko as the ball passed the bat. Nevertheless the TV umpire ruled that there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the onfield decision, leading to Brydon Carse exchanging some choice words with Labuschagne.
England 2nd innings
27.1 – Doggett to Smith: The decision over Labuschagne was brought into sharper focus the following day, however. Jamie Smith was given out at a key point in England's third innings, as England's last recognised batter and with the tourists 104-6. He tried to pull a ball from Brendan Doggett, and the close-in Australia fielders were convinced they heard a noise when the ball whistled through to Carey. Smith was given not out, and Australia sent the decision upstairs. Smith seemed to begin walking off when the decision was referred but stopped short to look at the replay. The review process took almost five minutes, with a clear spike shown on Snicko but only after the ball had passed the bat on one of the split-screen views. The decision was overturned and Smith had to continue walking off.
Brisbane
England 2nd innings
26.3 – Starc to Root: All was mostly calm around the technology in the second Test, with several reviews showing how the technology can be useful when correctly applied. Australia called for a review on a caught-behind decision to Joe Root in England's second innings. The on-field decision was not out, but replays showed a spike just before Root's bat struck the ground as he looked to chop down on a ball from Mitchell Starc. Not necessarily controversial, but an example of when the technology performs how it's supposed to – magnifying an edge missed by the on-field umpire amidst the sound of the bat hitting the ground.
Adelaide:
Australia 1st innings
62.1 – Tongue to Carey: The flashpoint over the technology came on the first day of the crucial third Test. Carey was on 73 when he missed an attempted punch off a ball from Josh Tongue. He was given not out, and England reviewed. Snicko showed a spike, however the spike was not aligned with the replays, showing up well before the ball passed the bat. The on-field umpire's decision stood, and Carey went on to make a century. Following the end of play, Carey said: "I thought there was a bit of a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat."
BBG Sports, who own Snicko blamed an "operator error" where the audio was selected from the incorrect stump mic, for the discrepancy between the replays and the Snicko. England's review was reinstated before the second day's play.
England 1st innings
43.2 – Cummins to Smith: The second day, however, saw more controversy over the technology affect both sides. Both incidents centred around Jamie Smith, the first leaving Australia frustrated. Smith was caught in the slips by Usman Khawaja off Pat Cummins, but the on-field umpires referred the decision up to the TV umpire because of confusion over whether the ball carried to the fielder, and whether it flicked Smith's gloves or came off the helmet. Although the ball passed very close to Smith's gloves, there was no murmur on Snicko at that point. The only disturbance on Snicko came when the ball was next to Smith's helmet. When the decision was given not out, several Australia players were within range of the stump mic.
"Snicko needs to be sacked, that's the worst technology there is," said Mitchell Starc. "They made a mistake the other day and they make another mistake today."
45.1 – Cummins to Smith: Shortly after, more controversy centred around a Smith dismissal. Smith was given out on the field after missing an attempted pull shot off Pat Cummins. The umpires again sent the decision upstairs. Once again, the replays of the ball passing Smith's bat and the spike on Snicko did not line up. The spike on Snicko only showed once the ball had passed Smith's bat, when there were clear daylight between the two. The TV umpire gave Smith out, who shook his head as he left the field. Stokes, who was also in the middle at the time, was also visibly furious.
Several pundits weighed in on the decision, with Graeme Swann saying on TNT: "This seems like one rule for one, and one for another. This is nonsense."
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