A critical technological error during the latest Ashes Test has sparked major controversy, after it was revealed a mistake by a Snicko operator denied England a crucial Australian wicket, allowing Alex Carey to score a match-shaping century.
The Controversial Decision
The incident occurred on Wednesday 17 December 2025 during the first innings of the Adelaide Test. Australia's wicketkeeper-batter, Alex Carey, was on 72 runs when he faced a delivery from England's Josh Tongue. The ball was caught by Jamie Smith, prompting a huge appeal from the England team who were convinced Carey had edged it.
The decision was referred to the TV umpire, Chris Gaffaney, for review using the Snicko technology. Snicko uses microphones on the stumps to detect sound and determine if the bat made contact. While the review showed a clear audio spike, Gaffaney ruled Carey not out because the spike appeared on the technology's graph before the ball had reached the bat, suggesting it was not related to an edge.
Carey's Admission and Company Confession
At the close of play, Carey himself admitted in a press conference that he believed he had indeed nicked the ball. He described feeling "a bit a feather" and acknowledged he had benefited from "a bit of luck."
Following this admission, BBG Sports, the company that owns the Snicko system, investigated and accepted full culpability. They revealed the operator had selected the audio feed from the stump microphone at the bowler's end, rather than the batter's end. This created a calibration delay, putting the sound and video footage out of sync and making the edge appear to happen earlier than it did.
"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," the company stated.
Consequences and Growing Distrust
Reprieved on 72, Carey capitalised fully, going on to make 106 runs in Australia's first innings total of 326 for eight. His century partnership added vital momentum in a match England desperately needed to win to stay in the series.
The error has severely damaged England's faith in the technology. Their bowling coach, David Saker, expressed the squad's deep frustration, noting similar issues occurred in the first Test in Perth. He suggested the team might formally raise the matter with the match referee.
"I think the calibration of the Snicko is out by quite a bit and that has probably been the case for the series," Saker said. "At that stage, it was a pretty important decision... In this day and age you'd think the technology is good enough to pick things up like that."
England uses a rival system called UltraEdge for its home matches, and this incident is likely to intensify the debate over the accuracy and implementation of decision-review technology in international cricket.
