The man behind snicko technology has explained the reason why ultra-edge technology did not create any noise after the controversial dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal, as India chased Australia’s 340-run lead on day five at the MCG.
In exciting circumstances, Australia would take the lead in the series with Pat Cummins and Scott Boland taking three wickets each on the final day to beat India by 184 runs.
Some Indian fans were left furious, including Indian Cricket Board vice-president Rajeev Shukla.
Some India fans inside the MCG even branded Australia ‘cheats’ after Jaiswal’s on-field decision was not overturned by third umpire Sharfuddoula.
The controversy related to how DRS was used, as Snicko did not appear to finish when the ball appeared to go over the 23-year-old batter’s gloves before Alex Carey caught it.
In his decision, Sharfuddoula explained that even when Snicko was inconclusive, the ball appeared to have changed its trajectory significantly as it moved away from the batsman, prompting him to overturn umpire Joel Wilson’s decision on the field and leave India with a score of 140. -7.
The man behind snicko spoke about why the technology failed to show an increase in Yashasvi Jaiswal’s lead during the Boxing Day test.
The incident has caused widespread controversy in the cricket community with Indian fans calling Australia “cheaters” over the matter.
An on-field decision was overturned after Jaiswal appeared to pass a ball behind him to Alex Carey.
BBG Sports are the founders of snicko and the innovative ‘Hot Spot’ technology which was first used in the 2006 Ashes and has revolutionized the review system in cricket.
Warren Brennen, who founded the company and is its chief technology officer, revealed to The Sydney Morning Herald that snicko doesn’t always detect light touches or “indirect hits.”
“In those look-type shots, there’s rarely any noise,” Brennan told the outlet. “Quick shots aren’t Snicko’s strong point, but they are HotSpot’s.”
Hot Spot works using infrared cameras that can measure heat signatures obtained by friction on a player’s bat, gloves or pad. In fact, it is understood that the system took elements from technology used in military aircraft and tanks as part of its design.
While the system, which was designed in 2007, could have helped provide more conclusive evidence of whether Jaiswal had touched the ball, the system is not currently used for the Border-Gavaskar 2024-25 series.
This is because concerns have previously been raised about the accuracy of the system.
In 2013, Brennan claimed that coatings and tape on bats could fool the technology and nullify the thermal signature that the camera would normally pick up if a cricket ball hit the bat.
Hot Spot usage has subsequently declined and is now not widely used by international teams.
Third umpire Sharfuddoula explained that the ball had deviated significantly in its trajectory after passing Jaiswal.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla also criticized the decision as “clearly unpublished” on social media.
Warren Brennan, the founder of the technology, claimed that Snicko doesn’t always work on “glance” shots.
Snicko was again a topic of conversation just five overs after Jaiswal’s dismissal, after Scott Boland dismissed Akash Deep.
Initially, the on-field umpire did not rule out the Indian star, but an Australian DRS review showed that he had passed the ball to Travis Head and the third umpire again overturned the decision. This time, Snicko had taken advantage.
The use of technology was later criticized by Sunil Gavaskar who, speaking about the Jaiswal incident, asked why Snicko if the umpires did not take his findings into consideration.
“I think maybe there will be conversations with the match referee and referees that if you’re not going to use the technology, why have it?” the Indian cricket legend told Channel 7.
‘That’s something that will definitely be the issue as far as the Indians are concerned. Yes, it looked as if it had slipped out of the glove, but there may have been an optical illusion.’
Pat Cummins gave his opinion on the discussion stating that he thought there was a clear problem.
“I think it was clear I had hit it. I heard a noise and saw a deflection, so I was absolutely sure I had hit it,” the Australia captain told reporters.
‘As soon as we mentioned it, you could see him lower his head and basically acknowledge that I had hit him.
The hot spot (shown here during a match in 2014) has not been used for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Series
Australia would secure victory after dismissing Jaiswal for 84 runs on Monday.
‘On the screen, you could see it hit. I don’t think anyone has full confidence in Ultra-edge and it didn’t really show much, but fortunately, there was other evidence showing that it no longer existed.
While Rohit Sharma seemed to agree with Cummins: “I don’t know what to make of it because the technology didn’t show anything, but to the naked eye it looked like it touched something.”
However, he questioned the use of the technology, before again admitting that the ball appeared to be cut.
“I don’t know how the referees want to use the technology, but to be fair, I think he touched the ball,” Sharma added.