The operator of the Snicko technology used in the Ashes has admitted an error resulted in Australia’s Alex Carey failing England’s review on the opening day of the third Test.

Carey led Australia to 326-8 with a brilliant maiden Ashes century, but it looked as if he might not reach the milestone when England immediately asked for a review after their appeal due to the bowling of Josh Tongue was rejected by umpire Ahsan Raza.

There’s a noticeable noise when the ball passes the outside edge of the kyrie, and there’s also a big spike on the Snicko technology used to help make such decisions. However, TV umpire Chris Gaffaney quickly ruled that the not out was upheld as the Snicko smash came before the ball reached the bat.

Carey, who had shot a 72 on review before shooting a 106, admitted in his post-closing press conference that he thought he had the lead.

Late Wednesday, Snicko’s parent company, BBG Sports, acknowledged the mistake. The company admitted that the audio was mistakenly taken from the stump microphone at the bowler’s end, causing a delay that resulted in audio spikes and images that were far out of sync.

BBG Sports said: “Given Alex Carey’s admission that he hit the ball in question, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the Snicko operator at the time must have selected the wrong stump microphone for audio processing.”

“In light of this, BBG Sports takes full responsibility for this error.”

How significant this moment is remains to be seen, with England needing a win to prevent Australia from retaining the Ashes after defeats in the first two Tests of the five-match series.

Before confirming the false claim, Carey said: “I thought there was a feather or some kind of noise as the bat passed by.

“If I was given up, I think I would review it and probably not be confident. When it goes through the bat, it’s a good sound.”

Before the error was confirmed, England bowling coach David Thacker also said the tourists might feel the need to make a formal complaint to match officials over their technical reservations.

“I don’t think we’ve taken any steps so far, but after today, maybe it could be a step further,” said Thacker, who was on England media duties after Wednesday’s game.

“It’s been a concern throughout the series. We shouldn’t be talking about it after a day’s play, it should be better than that. That’s it.”

Snicko caused a major controversy in the first Test when England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith was caught with a small spike despite being out of sync with the delivery bat.

Officials explained that the technology justified the decision by allowing a two-frame gap between the image and the sound waves.

England declined to make any further comment after confirming an operational error.

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Former England bowler Steven Finn has been a fierce critic of the technology, calling for its use to be stopped after this series.

A more advanced version of the technology, UltraEdge, is already in use in other countries, including England, to help referees with their judging.

Finn says TNT Sports: “The Ashes series usually ends people’s careers. The end of this game could be the end of Sniko’s career.

“The whole series has been poor. There have been three or four incidents, so hopefully they can strengthen that.”

sky sports’ Michael Atherton said he believed the technique resulted in the wrong decision, but the third referee had no choice but to pass it off.

“The decision hasn’t come out yet so the third referee has to be absolutely sure he can overturn it,” Atherton said in an interview. Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

“I think the third umpire gave the only decision he could make because the visual of the snap and the ball passing the bat were so far out of sync.

“I think the rule is, if it’s an out, that’s fine, they can do it. But it’s seriously out of sync, so I’m not sure what the third umpire can do.”

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