Ashes | Twitter reacts as Gaffney blindly follows nonsensical Snicko to ludicrously rule Smith out

Gantavya Adukia

ByGantavya Adukia,SportsCafe Editor

6

When Australia and England combine to criticize something, it is probably time to make do with. After two huge gaffes, Snicko surpassed all parameters of reliability with a third that defied logic, with victim Jamie Smith not even bothering to protest considering just how absurd the decision was.

Jamie Smith was incensed after being ruled out by Snicko on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test between Australia and England at the Adelaide Oval

Australia practically sealed the Ashes in their favour on Day 2 of the Adelaide Test after running through England's batting unit in double quick time after posting 371 on the board batting first. While player of the series to date Mitchell Starc endured a rare quiet day with the ball, the rest of the cartel more than made up for it with leading acts from returning men Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon. Keeping aside the hosts' disciplined bowling effort, the visitors' batting left a lot to be desired as batsmen once again fell to some poor shot selection. Technology did not aide their cause either, as it returned to haunt them during their batting effort a day after it had allowed Alex Carey to incorrectly survive which culminated in a potentially match-winning ton for the wicket-keeper. Unfortunately for Jamie Smith, the exact opposite fate awaited him.

Controversy was already rife after Smith blatantly gloved a Cummins bumper to slip but Chris Gaffaney with the help of Snicko ruled the ball had actually struck his helmet, albeit it was all moot considering Usman Khawaja had failed to grab onto the catch cleanly. Nevertheless, in Cummins' very next over, the Aussie skipper went short again and Smith tried to pull him square but went through with his shot too early and the ball skid through past his underedge. However, as soon as Carey pocketed the ball he went up in appeal, seeing which Cummins raised his hands too albeit with a confused look on his face. Quickly enough the entire team joined in, and the umpires decided to take the safe route by sending the decision upstairs under the guise of checking for a fair catch. Replays showed that Carey had caught the Kookaburra well above the ground, and whether there was bat involved remained the only question between survival and dismissal for Smith. The Snicko showed a significant spike a couple of frames after the ball had passed the bat by some distance, with at least a couple of inches between the willow and the red cherry at the point of the sound's incidence. Even so, Gaffaney culd not ignore the spike that had showed up, and ruled Smith out without much explanation.

Smith was stunned for a brief moment, before he hung his head and walked off quietly, his discomfort with the decision well echoed by Twitterati.

How!???

Hilarious!

Process Gone Wrong

Waiting!

What?!!

Process Matters

Lol!

Umpiring Disaster

Tech Trouble

Haha!

Snicko Chaos

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