England in talks to replace controversial Snicko with new technology for fourth Ashes Test
England and Cricket Australia are in discussions to replace the Snicko technology with Hawk-Eye UltraEdge for the upcoming Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. This consideration follows controversy during the Adelaide Test, where Snicko's accuracy was questioned.
During day two in Adelaide, Jamie Smith was dismissed in a contentious manner after Snicko's audio did not align with the video evidence. Mitchell Starc was overheard calling for Snicko to be removed. On day one, Alex Carey survived an appeal due to an operator error that produced an unreliable Snicko sound spike; the Snicko operator admitted to this mistake.
The potential switch would see BBG Sports, currently operating Snicko under Fox Sports, replaced by Hawk-Eye Innovations providing UltraEdge, with Channel 7 reportedly holding a Decision Review System (DRS) contract with Hawk-Eye. While the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is part of the discussions, the final decision lies elsewhere and any change would necessitate a financial settlement with BBG.
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg criticized BBG for the incident involving Carey and called for assurances that the technology’s fail-safes would be effective. Before play on day two, England had a lost review restored by match referee Jeff Crowe, but neither Cricket Australia nor the ECB issued comments at the end of day two.
