Australia cricket team captain Steven Smith was left swearing at the Spidercam after he was distracted by a wire supporting the aerial camera and dropped a straightforward catch during the ongoing Sydney Test.
The drop allowed rookie Indian batsman Lokesh Rahul to post his maiden Test century and could prove costly to Australia's hopes of winning at the SCG.
Spidercam is one of Channel Nine's most valued technological tools, sweeping above huddles and wicket celebrations to provide viewers with unrivalled angles, suspended by a web of cables, Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The camera had been positioned over third man but Cricket Australia and its broadcast partner admitted that one of the wires diverted Smith's attention after the skipper ran back from the slips cordon and hovered under a skied pull shot from Rahul.
After the ball slipped through his hands, Smith pointed skywards and swore, mouthing, 'f***ing wire.'
Also Read
Nine head of sport Steve Crawley immediately sent his engineers to investigate and established the ball had not hit either the camera or the wire, which is covered in mesh so that it doesn't glint in the sun.
CA and Channel Nine said in a joint statement that it's clear the ball did not hit the camera or its supporting wires, adding that Smith was distracted by one of the wires in his eye line.
They further said that both CA and Nine would continue to work together on the use of Spidercam in the broadcast coverage and would take on board any player feedback as necessary.
The CA and Nine also stated that as it stands, if any player has a concern about the placement of Spidercam they can ask the umpires for it to be moved.
Smith, who is usually a brilliant fielder, was already a frustrated man when part of Spidercam's web caught his eye, after a fielding balls-up that saw Rahul survive a run-out chance, despite falling over and dropping his bat, when substitute fielder Pat Cummins threw to the wrong end.
Later, he dropped Virat Kohli in the slips on 59, and watched the Indian captain notch a fourth century for the series, the report added.
