Ashes: Alex Carey admits hearing noise after DRS reprieve
What's the story
Australia's wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey scored a memorable hundred on Day 1 of the 3rd Ashes Test against England at Adelaide Oval. However, he was reprieved by the Decision Review System (DRS). The incident occurred when Carey was on 72 and attempted to cut a delivery from England's Josh Tongue, which bounced across him. After the day's play, Carey admitted he thought there was a noise when the ball passed his bat.
Appeal details
England's DRS goes in vain
The England team was convinced that there was a noise when the ball passed Carey's bat and immediately appealed. However, umpire Ahsan Raza didn't budge. The decision was reviewed using DRS, which showed a clear spike on Snicko but failed to match the noise with the image on screen, spiking two frames before it passed Carey's bat. Therefore, the third umpire stayed with the original decision.
Admission
Carey's admission and reaction to the incident
After the incident, Carey admitted he thought there was a noise when it passed his bat. He said, "It looked a bit funny on the replay, didn't it, with the noise coming a bit early." He further added that if he had been given out, he would have reviewed it, but not confidently. The Australian wicketkeeper-batter also said, "Snicko didn't line up, and that's just how cricket goes sometimes."
Tech critique
England's bowling coach calls for improvement in technology
Meanwhile, England's bowling coach David Saker has called for improvements in the DRS technology. He said, "There was obviously a spike, but it was either really early or late." Saker added that their players are confident Carey hit the ball, and the wicketkeeper behind the stumps wouldn't have reacted unless he thought something happened.
Umpire's perspective
Former umpire Simon Taufel weighs in
Simon Taufel, the former international umpire, described the incident as "amazing," something he had never seen before. Speaking on Australia's Channel 7, he explained that for a third umpire to overturn a not-out decision, there needs to be clear evidence of bat deflection or a spike next to or up to one frame past the bat. In this case, Taufel noted, "the spike occurred at least a couple of frames before the bat."
Century
Carey slams his maiden Ashes ton
Nevertheless, Carey went on to slam his maiden century in The Ashes. He earlier formed crucial stands with Usman Khawaja and Josh Inglis. Carey reached his hundred off just 135 balls in the 73rd over. It was an emotional moment for Carey, who lost his father Gordon Carey, in September this year. The former later fell to Will Jacks for a 143-ball 106 (8 fours and 1 six). Australia, who elected to bat, were 326/8 at stumps.