Comparative analysis between Snickometer & UltraEdge

Ashes 2025: Snickometer controversy in Adelaide sparks debate — comparing Snickometer and UltraEdge accuracy in modern Test cricket.

Rather than the contest between bat and ball, a different element has taken centrestage in the ongoing third Test of the Ashes 2025/26. The Adelaide Oval saw Snicko technology grab the most attention. On two out of three occasions in successive days, the visitors, England, have found themselves on the unfavourable end.

As a result, they have raised grievances over the use of Snicko in Australia after its supplier admitted to an apparent error in the process. According to ESPNcricinfo, England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, and team manager, Wayne Bently, held talks with match referee, Jeff Crowe, on the matter. The England Cricket Board (ECB) is also anticipated to encourage the ICC to review its systems and improve decision-making in future programs.

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Snicko errors betray England on successive occasions
The first incident took place on the opening day of the contest. Alex Carey, on 72, flashed Josh Tongue’s first ball of the 63rd over. The visiting fielders, including wicket-keeper Jamie Smith, immediately appealed for a caught-behind. The standing umpire, Ahsan Raza, didn’t raise his finger and England reviewed the decision without any hesitation.

There was a spike shown on the real-time Snickometer, but it appeared three or four frames before the ball passed Carey’s bat. The TV umpire, Chris Gaffaney, reckoned that the spike was ‘before the bat’ and didn’t have conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field decision. Later on, Carey, who celebrated a fine 106, suggested that he had hit the ball.

“I thought there was a bit of a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat. It looked a bit funny on the replay, didn’t it, with the noise coming early? If I were given out, I think I would have reviewed it, probably not confidently though. It was a nice sound as it passed the bat,” Carey said in the press conference.

Meanwhile, the second incident took place on the following day when Australia players started celebrating on Usman Khawaja’s catch of Jamie Smith. The on-field umpires reviewed a possible catch at first slip off Pat Cummins’ bowling. However, Gaffaney stated that the ball had hit Jamie on the helmet after consulting Snicko. The home players, however, were convinced that it had hit the batter on the gloves.

“Snicko needs to be sacked. That’s the worst technology there is. They made a mistake the other day, and they made another mistake today,” Mitchell Starc revealed his frustration, standing close to the stump microphone.

Subsequently, there was a shift in emotion two overs later when Jamie was shocked after being given out caught behind off Cummins. Snicko showed a spike one frame after the ball had passed the bat. This time around, the on-field umpires referred it to the TV umpire.

“Of course, we’ve been on the back end of a poor one yesterday, and a few ones that you sort of question over the course of today. It’s up to the powers that be behind the scenes to try and work that out,” Marcus Trescothick, England’s batting coach, opined on the issue.

Even during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25, India’s opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, was dismissed in unusual circumstances during the final session of the Melbourne Test. His on-field not-out decision for caught-behind was overturned by the third umpire despite Real-time Snicko not confirming the edge.

While Snicko showed a flat line as the ball passed the bat, replays showed a big deflection. Third umpire, Sharfuddoula, went by what he saw- the deflection- and overturned the decision in Australia’s favour.

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Comparative analysis of Snickometer and UltraEdge
The explanation for the use of technology isn’t straightforward. In Australia, they use different technology for the Tests and T20 competitions. UltraEdge is being used in the Big Bash League (BBL) and at the lower levels of cricket despite being considered the superior technology.

The BBG Sports is in charge of providing the Snicko to broadcasters in the ongoing Ashes 2025/26. They accepted the mistake of turning up the sound on the stump microphone at the bowler’s end instead.

“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. In light of this, BBG Sports takes full responsibility for the error,” Warren Brennan, the founder of BBG Sports, told ‘The Age.’

Technology may not be perfect, but it is certainly an improvement from leaving decisions solely in the hands of on-field umpires. The Decision Review System (DRS) was introduced to eliminate howlers; in this series, however, it has contributed three of them. The question now is what solution will the ICC come up with going forward.

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