Captains Pat Cummins and Rohit Sharma expressed reservations over the Snicko technology after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s controversial game-changing dismissal in the Boxing Day Test.
Jaiswal’s wicket was the flashpoint on dramatic final day at a heaving MCG as Australia secured a famous 184-run victory over India in front of a record day-five crowd of 74,362 to take a 2-1 series lead heading into the final Test in Sydney.
The new batting prince of India had his 310-minute vigil come to an end when video umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat gave him out caught behind to Alex Carey off Cummins’ bowling despite Snicko, also referred to as ultra-edge, not registering a spike as the ball passed his bat and gloves.
Adamant they had their man, the Australians almost immediately sent West Indies’ umpire Joel Wilson’s not out call upstairs, and were vindicated by footage that showed a clear deflection in the ball’s trajectory off the bat.
A shattered Jaiswal remonstrated with the on-field umpires after being given his marching orders, but both captains said the right decision was made.
Jaiswal was the last frontline batter to fall, leaving India’s bottom four with the improbable task of surviving 21 overs to save the game.
Yashavsi Jaiswal tried to hook a delivery from Pat Cummins and got a faint touch on the ball that resulted in him eventually being given out caught behind.Credit: Justin McManus
Warren Brennan – the founder of BBG Sports, which operates the ultra-edge-edge technology – told this masthead his technology was not best used for glancing shots such as Jaiswal’s, while there is a lack of confidence from players on the system.
“I think it was clear that he hit it,” Cummins said. “Heard a noise, saw deviation, it was absolutely certain that he hit it. As soon as we referred it, you could see him [Jaiswal] clearly drop his head and basically acknowledge that he hit it.
“On the screen, you could see that he hit it. ultra-edge-edge, I don’t think anyone has complete confidence in. It didn’t really show much but, fortunately, there was enough other evidence to show that it was clearly out.”
Rohit bemoaned his team being on the rough end of the stick with technology, though Jaiswal had good fortune when his score was just 31 when Australia were denied by an lbw review on a Mitchell Starc delivery that showed the ball hitting the stumps but was deemed an umpire’s call.
Rubbing salt into India’s wounds, Akash Deep was given out moments after Jaiswal’s departure to a bat -pad catch that produced a spike and a cherry mark on the player’s blade.
“I don’t know what to make of that because the technology didn’t show anything,” Rohit said of Jaiswal’s wicket.
“With the naked eye, it seemed that he did touch something.
“I don’t know how the umpires want to use the technology, but in all fairness he did touch the ball but again it’s about the technology which we all know is not 100 per cent.
Jaiswal questions the on-field umpires after being given out.Credit: Justin McManus
“Like I said, we don’t want to really look too much into that. More often than not, we are the ones falling on the wrong side of it … I feel we’ve been a little unfortunate.”
Brennan explained why his technology did not detect a touch from Jaiswal’s shot despite the vision strongly indicating contact with the bat or gloves.
“On those glance-type shots there is rarely any noise,” Brennan said. “Glance shots are not Snicko’s strength, whereas it is for HotSpot.”
HotSpot, which detects marks left from the ball making contact with bat or gloves, would have more likely helped decide Jaiswal’s dismissal but is not in use this series.
India great Sunil Gavaskar suggested there could have been an “optical illusion” in Jaiswal’s case, but Ricky Ponting was emphatic the opener was out.
“If the evidence of the technology is not to be taken, why have it at all?” Gavaskar said on Seven. “That is something that would definitely be the query as far as the Indians are concerned.
“Yes, it looked as if it might have gone off the glove but there can be an optical illusion. Often we see when the ball is brand new that a ball goes near the bat’s edge and then moves away.”
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