Spidercam will surely come under fire after an incident on the third day of the Sydney Test at the SCG.
Australian captain Steve Smith was under a skied ball while Rahul was on 46 at the end of the first session, after he mishit a ball off the bowling of Shane Watson.
LIVE SCORES OF DAY THREE BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND INDA
He dropped the catch, and immediately afterward pointed skywards, seemingly gesturing at Spidercam. There were suggestions from commentators that the ball had struck the wire or ‘web’ of Spidercam on its way down, distracting Smith in his attempt to take the catch.
Channel Nine have denied that the ball struck the camera or any part of the wire.
In a joint statement, Nine and Cricket Australia have said the ball did not touch the camera or the wire.
They did, however, concede the Australian “Captain Steve Smith was distracted by one of the wires in his eye line.”
“We (CA & Nine) have spoken about the matter involving Spidercam and the dropped catch before lunch and it’s clear the ball did not hit the camera or its supporting wires,” the joint statement read.
“Both CA and Nine will continue to work together on the use of Spidercam in the broadcast coverage and will take on board any player feedback as necessary.
“As it stands, if any player has a concern about the placement of Spidercam they can ask the umpires for it to be moved.”
Speaking on ABC Grandstand’s commentary, former Test batsman Ed Cowan insisted that even if the ball did not touch the wires, the camera moving in Steve Smith’s vision would have been distracting enough for him to drop the catch.
Cowan cheekily added that even if the ball hadn’t struck any part of the contraption, “I would have blamed Spidercam.”
Word from Spidercam is that the ball did not hit the camera or the wires. India 2/119 #PinkTest #AUSvIND #WWOS pic.twitter.com/cS65T3sW6j
— Wide World of Sports (@WWOS9) January 8, 2015
It is the first time a controversy like this has hit Spidercam this summer, despite its presence in the one day series against South Africa and every Test against India.
But some have made the point that with a camera on the field of play, incidents like this are an inevitability, rather than a freak incident.
Who'd have thought a camera that is effectively on the field of play would ever cause a problem? #ausvind
— Brydon Coverdale (@brydoncoverdale) January 8, 2015
At the time of the drop, the game was delicately poised at 2/113. Rahul had not yet reached his half century, and Australian spinner Nathan Lyon was pressing for more wickets after dismissing Rohit Sharma earlier.
What impact this incident will have on the game, and whether Smith is right in pointing the finger of blame at Spidercam, will be uncovered in the coming sessions.
And it wouldn’t be the first time the ball has hit Spidercam, with a game between the Sydney Sixers and Mumbai Indians in the T20 Champions League providing a good example.
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