The much maligned ‘Snicko’ technology has come under fresh fire around the cricket world during the fifth Ashes Test after the dismissal of Ben Stokes in the first session on day two at the SCG. England were looking to build on their strong display on a rain-affected opening day in Sydney after resuming at 3-211 on Monday.
Australia struck an early blow when Scott Boland removed the dangerous Harry Brook for a well-made 84 before Joe Root went on to notch another century. But Stokes’ time at the crease was short-lived after the England skipper was sent packing for a duck, caught behind by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
The wicket of Ben Stokes on day two of the fifth Test has sparked fresh backlash around the ‘Snicko’ technology used in the Ashes series. Pic: Getty/Fox Cricket
The Aussie quick only half-heatedly appealed and the umpire’s initial decision was not out, but Steve Smith decided to send it upstairs for review. Stokes seemed confident he didn’t get an edge and several replays failed to paint a clear picture.
But the Snicko technology showed what was deemed to be a spike from the bat, leaving Stokes less than impressed as he trudged off the ground. “There’s no gap between bat and the ball and I can see a clear spike as the ball passed the bat,” the third umpire explained as he asked the umpire to reverse the initial decision.
The issue many viewers had is that the spike on ‘Snicko’ only occurred a number of frames after the ball passed Stokes’ bat, which has happened a number of times now in the series. The Stokes dismissal sparked fresh uproar around Snicko with many viewers frustrated that the technology continues to be a major talking point. Many were even adamant the England captain should not have been given out, despite closer replays showing no separation between Stokes’ bat and the ball.
‘Snicko’ continues to frustrate cricket world in Ashes series
Australia and New Zealand still use the Snicko technology to rule on edges, even though many other countries like England upgraded to UltraEdge years ago. UltraEdge is produced by Hawkeye Technologies and widely accepted as being far more accurate, albeit more expensive.
Fox Sports and Channel 7 already stumped up a combined $1.5 billion to broadcast the cricket in Australia and are also required to pay for the technology used in Test series down under. The ICC (International Cricket Council) pays for and uses UltraEdge at World Cups and global tournaments, but not for bilateral series, leading to calls for cricket’s governing body to take control and make it consistent across the board.
England captain Ben Stokes stood his ground but was eventually sent packing after Snicko found he edged the ball to Alex Carey. Pic: Getty
It follows comments from Smith after the third Ashes Test that Snicko “should be sacked” after Australia and England both claimed they were robbed on different occasions. Alex Carey went on to make 106 after edging the ball behind on 72, only for Snicko to show a spike at the wrong time due to an operator error. And England’s Jamie Smith also received a reprieve after a ball that the Aussies were certain hit his glove was caught by Usman Khawaja.