Watch: Alex Carey saved on human error in Snicko as controversy erupts in 3rd Ashes 2025/26 Test

England were considering raising their disappointment around the Snicko technology used in Australia with the match referee, which cost them the wicket of Alex Carey during the third Test of the Ashes 2025/26 in Adelaide, with the wicket-keeper batter later on going on to celebrate a fine century to bail Australia out of trouble.

It was the first ball of the 63rd over by Josh Tongue, when Carey flashed hard only to Jamie Smith, and the England players appealed. They took it upstairs before the TV umpire ruled it not out, seeing a clear gap with no spike when the ball passes the bat.

“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, yeah.” Carey expressed in the post-day press conference.

Alex Carey reflects on controversy around Snicko technology

Carey was on 72 by then and added another 34 runs after his reprieve. The former umpire performance manager at the ICC, Simon Taufel, claimed that Snicko perhaps had malfunctioned, while England’s bowling coach, David Saker, showed concern about the quality of the technology throughout the series.

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“I have never seen a spike like this occur without the bat hitting something like a pad, or the ground, or the ball hitting the pad. My gut tells me, from all of my experience on-field, and also as a TV umpire, that I think Alex Carey has actually hit that ball and the technology calibration hasn't been quite right to game the outcome that it was looking for.” Teufel addressed.

“The boys were pretty confident he hit it. I think the calibration of the Snicko is out quite a bit, and that has probably been the case for the series. There have been some things that don't really measure up. At that stage, it was a pretty important decision. Those things hurt, but you get through it.” Sake was highlighted in the press conference.