Starc urges ICC to act after Snicko goof-ups

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has put pressure on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take responsibility for the Decision Review System (DRS), insisting that inconsistency in technology use is undermining confidence in the system. There were a couple of questionable decisions involving Real Time Snicko in the Adelaide Test, and the left-arm pacer urged the cricket governing body to step in.

Speaking after Australia secured an 82-run victory that gave them a 3-0 lead in the the Ashes, Starc questioned the current system's structure and funding. Starc added that the debate is not limited to players, noting that fans, officials and broadcasters alike have expressed frustration with the current setup.

"I'm sure it's frustrating for everyone, viewers, officials, and broadcasters, no doubt. One thing I will say ... I'm only going to speak for myself here, the officials use it, right? So why doesn't the ICC pay for it?" questioned Starc.

"And why is it not just one [provider] across the board? Why don't we use the same technology in all different series, that's going to perhaps create less confusion, less frustration? So that's where I'll leave that

The comments come amid mounting frustration over controversial DRS decisions, especially moments when the Snicko edge-detection system produced puzzling results during the third Test in Adelaide. During play, Starc was even heard on the stump mic calling for the technology to be removed, branding it the "worst technology" and saying "Snicko needs to be sacked".

Two edge detection systems are currently approved by the ICC, with UltraEdge being the other. While Snicko is used in Australia and New Zealand, countries like India, England and South Africa rely on UltrEdge.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting had said during the third Test that Snicko was unreliable and the umpires do not trust it. "This technology that we are using here is simply not as good as technology that's used in other countries," he told Channel 7. "You talk to the umpires, they'll tell you the same thing. They can't trust it.

"They've got a third umpire sitting up in there that's got to make decisions based on what he's seeing that the technology is providing, and sometimes they have a gut feel that it's not right. That can't happen. You've got to be able to trust the technology that's in place," Ponting had said.

Pat Cummins, the Australia captain, also noted that the Snicko technology differed from UltraEdge. "The one here seems a little bit different to sometimes what you get overseas. There's always a few murmurs. You're hoping that it matches up if you're the bowling team. Sometimes you kind of just making sure that it's all okay if you're batting, even though you feel like you haven't hit it. It sometimes doesn't feel super consistent, but you just crack on whatever the umpire says."