4 hours ago
8
The Ashes and controversy. A tale as old as time.
The 2025-26 series got its first big dose on day two of the first Test in Perth when Jamie Smith was given out caught behind on review.
The boos from England's fans were inevitable - the subsequent chants too. What was the right call?
The incident happened in the 28th over of England's second innings.
With England 104-6, Jamie Smith chased a short ball down the leg side from Mitchell Starc with a pull shot.
Australia's Travis Head, fielding close at short leg, was convinced he heard an edge. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey appealed confidently too.
Umpire Nitin Menon gave the decision not out on field but it was quickly reviewed by Australia captain Steve Smith.
What followed was almost five minutes of confusion as TV umpire Sharfuddoula assessed the situation.
"This is one of the longest reviews I can ever remember," Test Match Special commentator Simon Mann said.
The first replay showed a murmur of a noise on the technology and Smith immediately started to walk from the field.
The murmur, though, appeared to come after the ball had passed Smith's bat. Smith eventually turned around.
"As the ball passes there is nothing there," Sharfuddoula said. "The ball already passes the bat."
But Sharfuddoula continued to pour over replay after replay.
"There should be a timeframe," former England captain Michael Vaughan said. "It has to be clear and obvious."
Eventually, after more and more replays, Sharfuddoula changed his mind.
"I can see a spike as the ball has just gone past the bat," he said. "I am satisfied the ball has made contact with the bat."
He advised Menon to overturn his on-field decision and Smith was given out. 104-6 became 104-7.
The Perth Stadium was filled with English boos as Smith left the field.
The relevant section of the International Cricket Council's playing conditions, which implement the structures for Test cricket's review system, is as follows:
"If despite the available technology, the third umpire is unable to decide with a high degree of confidence whether the original on-field decision should be changed, then he/she shall report that the replays are 'inconclusive', and that the on-field decision shall stand. The third umpire shall not give answers conveying likelihoods or probabilities."
Sharfuddoula clearly deemed otherwise.
It has been explained to BBC Sport that the technology used in Australia has a two-frame gap between the pictures and the sound wave.
Speaking on 7 Cricket, former international umpire Simon Taufel said: "The conclusive evidence protocols with RTS [Real Time Snickometer] - if you get a spike up to one frame past the bat, that is conclusive. And in this particular case, that is exactly what was there.
"Unfortunately, he [Sharfuddoula] didn't want to pull the trigger quite as quickly as perhaps he could have or should have.
"The guys in the truck were doing their utmost to show him and to slow it down and to try rocking and rolling that frame.
"For me, the correct decision was made. A spike RTS after one frame past the bat, the batter has got to go."
Vaughan said: "When Jamie Smith saw it he was walking off.
"His reaction was not a reaction of someone disgusted with that decision.
"He is a quiet guy but there was not a lot of disgruntlement with that England pair."
