England get a win in Snicko drama
This just in from Daily Mail cricket correspondent Lawrence Booth…
England have had a review reinstated by ICC match referee Jeff Crowe after a technology error cost them the wicket of Australia’s Alex Carey on the first day of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.
BBG Sports, the company who operate the Real-Time Snicko in Tests in Australia, had taken ‘full responsibility’ for the error, after one of the operators of the technology ‘selected the wrong stump mic for audio processing’.
That meant the audio and visual aspects of the technology failed to align, with the spike on Snicko registering before the ball touched the underside of Carey’s bat en route to England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. Carey, who had 72 at the time and went on to make 106, later all but admitted he had edged it.
Before play began on the second day, with Australia 326 for eight, it emerged that Crowe had reinstated England’s review. With each team allowed three incorrect challenges per innings, the tourists’ tally is now back to two.
The controversy led to England head coach Brendon McCullum and team manager Wayne Bentley having discussions at the close of play with Crowe, and the ECB will hold discussions with the ICC, the global game’s governing body, to ensure the protocol of Decision Review System is reviewed, with the aim of improving decision-making processes.
Australian broadcasters use the less accurate RTS, while Sky Sports in the UK use Ultra Edge after the ECB decided to dip into their own pockets to fund the technology.