By
SABC Sport
17th December 2025
Carey was on 72 when he flashed at a delivery by seamer Josh Tongue with the England fielders and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith immediately appealing for a caught behind dismissal.
Umpire Ahsan Raza gave not out and England captain Ben Stokes signalled that he wanted to use a review.
Replays showed a clear spike but it appeared three or four frames before the ball passed Carey's bottom edge and TV umpire Chris Gaffaney said that the spike was "before the bat" and upheld the on-field decision.
The decision proved significant as Carey went on to score 106, his third Test century, as Australia ended the day on 326-8.
At the post-play presser the gloveman said: "I thought there was a bit of a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat. It looked a bit funny on the replay, didn't it, with the noise coming early?
"If I was given out, I think I would have reviewed it - probably not confidently though. It was a nice sound as it passed the bat, yeah.
"Snicko obviously didn't line up, did it? That's just the way cricket goes sometimes, isn't it? You have a bit of luck, and maybe it went my way today."
Warren Brennan, the founder of BBG Sports who provide the technology used in Tests in Australia, told The Age: "Given that Alex Carey admitted he had hit the ball in question, the only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the Snicko operator at the time must have selected the incorrect stump mic for audio processing.
"In light of this, BBG Sports takes full responsibility for the error."
