Test cricket is in the hands of its broadcasters when it comes to the use of technology in the decision review system.
That is because tools adopted to adjudicate on player challenges for edges like Snicko – at the heart of Wednesday’s Alex Carey controversy in Adelaide – are generally paid for by the host broadcasters and so vary from country to country.
Intriguingly, Snicko is viewed as outdated in the UK. It was ditched by Sky Sports for its rival product Ultra Edge designed by Hawk-Eye back in 2016. Whereas the long-standing snickometer is an artificial collaboration of sound and vision, requiring images and noises to be aligned by a human operator, Ultra Edge amalgamates the two via Hawk-Eye’s precise ball-tracking.
Both Australia and New Zealand have continued with Snicko while England, India and South Africa employ Ultra Edge.
Although DRS was first trialled in international matches back in 2008, India did not agree to the use of technology for bilateral series until nine years ago when Hawk-Eye enhanced its tracking cameras from 50 frames per second to 340 to more accurately determine when ball makes contact with bat or pad.
The International Cricket Council was behind persuading the Indians to fall in with the rest of the world, yet the governing body do not fund it outside of limited-overs tournaments.
Alex Carey profited from an error made by the ‘outdated’ Snickometer after edging behind
Test cricket is in the hands of its broadcasters when it comes to the use of technology
Both Australia and New Zealand have continued with Snickometer while England and India (pictured during the 2025 series above), as well as South Africa, employ Ultra Edge
That has led to broadcasters shopping around for the technology they consider the best fit for their coverage, based on a variety of things from viewer experience to budget.
But it also means that suppliers such as BBG Sports – Snicko’s parent company – take responsibility for the kind of error that was made by its employees when Carey was reprieved on 72 because the wrong microphone was selected.
Recognising DRS as playing an increasingly important part in the modern game, the ECB footed the bill for technology for the first time in its latest broadcast deal with Sky last year.
Cost varies in different territories around the globe, with West Indies until recently outsourcing it to a third party for their TV coverage while South Africa controversially opted not to but it – at a saving of £35,000 – for a women’s Test against England 12 months ago that subsequently featured a plethora of on-field howlers.
It is also the second December in a row that a high-profile match in Australia has featured Carey in a DRS controversy.
During the 2024-25 Boxing Day Test, India were left furious after Yashasvi Jaiswal was given out caught behind by Carey off Pat Cummins despite minimal snickometer evidence to overturn the not out decision given by standing umpire Joel Wilson – third official Sharfuddoulah determining from video re-runs that a deflection had taken place.
