"Careers are on the line": Global calls for ICC to fix Snicko mess

Careers are on the line and technology "is not fit for purpose", is the warning from experts and players amid a Snicko crisis at the Ashes.

Day 1 of the third Test in Adelaide saw Alex Carey survive an adamant English review that he had edged behind to Jamie Smith on 72.

The spike appeared on Snicko but was ignored due to the distance between bat and ball and Carey went on to make a famous century in front of his adoring home fans.

BBG Sports, the owners of Snicko, explained the error was a result of human error.

But this was only the start with the technology again brought into question on two occasions during the second day's play.

Jamie Smith fended at a Pat Cummins delivery aimed at his head which was caught by Usman Khawaja at slip, umpire Nitin Menon gave no decision but went to square leg to ask if it had carried. This resulted in an umpire review.

Snicko determined that it had in fact deflected off Smith’s helmet and he survived. Although many believe the ball hit his glove first, which Snicko couldn't determine.

Shortly after this, Smith was caught up again in a pull shot that Carey and Cummins were convinced had been edged.

Yet again, and more questionably given the ball clearly carried to Carey, Menon gave no decision and went upstairs in an umpire review.

All the while, Jamie Smith was preparing to send it upstairs in his own review if he was given out. Such was the confidence that the wicket keeper had not hit it.

Snicko showed a spike on the second of two frames where the ball was in front of and then behind the bat respectively.

However, given the vicinity to the bat and the fact it was a mere one frame off, this was given out and Smith had to go for 22.

Paul Marsh, CEO at Australian Cricketers' Association, said it was high time the ICC and governing bodies took responsibility for the sport's technology decisions and unified the global game.

In England the ECB pays for the technology while in Australia, Fox Sports - the host broadcaster - foots the bill.

“It hasn’t been great. It’s a moment to reflect on where we’re at with it and it feels like a lot of the problems have been there from the start," Marsh told SEN.

"Its strange the onus is on the broadcasters to pay for this. You would like to think there would be a review after this match and that it will sit with the ICC and the governing bodies not the broadcasters.

“I’m assuming it’s a cost thing and they have decided to take advantage of the broadcasters. I don’t think the interests are aligned. It doesn’t matter to the broadcasters if the decision is right or wrong but it should to the game.

“It’s not good enough, players careers are on the line when you get these things wrong. We did this to get decisions right. We now have to have a proper look at this because it’s not fit for purpose.

“The technology is not lining up as it should and there are better solutions in other parts of the world. The technology needs to be uniform.

“Careers are on the line but look at all the people here, it’s important to our sporting culture. We expect this, other sports have nailed this.”

Echoing Marsh's thoughts, SEN's Simon Katich called for the ICC to step in.

Clearly the pressure is mounting on BBG Sport and the ICC to ensure function of its only technology in place to detect edges ever since the reduction of hotpot usage.

"I think the inconsistencies are the problem, we've seen it from one day to the next," Katich said on SEN's The New Ball.

"There’s been talk about the synchronisation of the Snicko and the timing of when the decisions are made.

"We saw that with Alex Carey's on Day 1, that shouldn't be happening in the game. Then yesterday, when the Jamie Smith decision happened, and it looked front on like it might've clipped his glove before hitting his helmet… it felt like that potentially was similar to the day before.

"It’s just the inconsistencies around day to day and how it's managed.

"I guess the only way it needs to be solved is that the governing body steps in and makes sure that it's a uniform process across all of Test cricket around the world.

"I don't know what the cost is and how that all gets managed, but at the moment, it's not working and the players are clearly getting frustrated with it.

"We heard it on Stump Mic yesterday, and I can understand why, because this is a massive series.

"That Alex Carey decision, that's just one of a number of decisions that can potentially influence the outcome of the series, and England are hanging on by a thread.

"If that gets given out and he doesn't get the 100, who knows where Australia's first innings ends up.

"It influences not just the result of the series, but people's careers and their legacies. That's how significant it is."

England return to the crease on the morning of Day 3 at 8/213.