England will have a player review reinstated after the supplier of Snicko technology admitted that an operator error may have cost them the wicket of Alex Carey on the opening day of the Adelaide Test. Carey, batting on 72, flashed at a delivery from Josh Tongue outside off stump. On-field umpire Ahsan Raza gave him not out, and TV umpire Chris Gaffaney upheld the decision.

However, replays showed a clear spike on the Real-Time Snickometer (RTS) several frames before the ball passed the bat. Despite this, Gaffaney stated on the broadcast that there was a clear gap between bat and ball and no spike detected. Carey went on to score 106 and later admitted after play that he believed he had hit the ball, conceding that he had been fortunate. He also acknowledged that he is clearly not a walker.

BBG Sports, the supplier of RTS, later confirmed that an operator had selected the incorrect stump microphone for audio processing and took full responsibility for the error. According to ESPNcricinfo, England head coach Brendon McCullum and team manager Wayne Bentley raised the issue with match referee Jeff Crowe after the close of play. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) also urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to review its systems to improve decision-making processes going forward.

England bowling coach David Saker said on Wednesday night that the team had harboured concerns about the reliability of RTS throughout the series. Under the ICC’s playing conditions, a player review can be reinstated at the discretion of the match referee if it could not be properly concluded due to a technological failure.

As a result, England will have two reviews available on the second day of the Adelaide Test. While this offers some relief, it provides little consolation given Carey added a further 34 runs after being incorrectly given not out.

The ICC currently approves two sound-based edge-detection technologies, Real-Time Snickometer, which is used in Australia, and UltraEdge, which is used in the rest of the world. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has earlier stated that UltraEdge is the superior system and cautioned against placing full trust in RTS.