3 minute read
Another technology issue has affected the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, where the Snickometer will be offline for the entire series opener.
The first Ashes Test has been blotted by another technological failure, with Australia and England disagreeing about the impact of the absent key tool in the Decision Review System (DRS).
It emerged on Thursday that the third umpire was not monitoring no-balls at the Gabba because the associated technology failed on the previous day.
On Friday, it was a misfiring Snickometer that frustrated Australia as they unsuccessfully tried to break a stubborn 159-run partnership between Joe Root and Dawid Malan.
'Snicko' uses a sensitive microphone to try to detect whether a batter has edged the ball.
Australia reviewed a Josh Hazlewood caught-behind shout when Malan was on 16.
The Kookaburra was close to the toe of Malan's bat, but there wasn't enough evidence to overturn Paul Reiffel's on-field verdict of not out.
Malan, who reached 80 at stumps on day three, insists the episode was a non-event because he "missed it by a mile".
"It wouldn't have made a difference either way in that case, there might have been a different one somewhere," Malan said.
But Marnus Labuschagne sensed Snicko, which Cricket Australia (CA) says is offline during this Test because of Queensland's border restrictions, could have made a difference.
"I was at first slip," Labuschagne recalled.
"I didn't hear a noise, but the other four guys around me were adamant there was bat.
"It looked like it hit the bottom of the toe ... (on) HotSpot, we thought it looked like there was a mark on the bottom of the toe.
"But when you don't have Snicko, obviously that decision is never going to get turned over."
The full suite of DRS devices is expected to be used during the day-night Test, which begins at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
"Just the biggest series that's been played for a while and we've got two pretty important pieces of technology that aren't here," Ricky Ponting noted on the Seven Network.
Englishman Sam Billings, in Australia to play BBL with Sydney Thunder, was likewise stunned.
"No snicko and no technology for no balls. Why? (For the biggest series in cricket...)," Billings posted on Twitter.
It's understood match referee David Boon has kept both teams aware of the technology issues.
Nonetheless, it has been a poor look in such a high-profile contest.
