Both sides able to argue right answer with Kohli 'catch'

In this golden age of conspiracy theories, it's only fitting the technological advances designed to bring greater clarity to decision-making in Test cricket have instead managed to cause even greater contention.

The controversy surrounding Steve Smith's disputed catch early on day one of the fifth NRMA Insurance Test – lent greater theatre by dint of it being the first delivery faced by India's principal polariser, Virat Kohli – drew almost as many hypotheses as it did cheers and jeers.

As is the case with the moon landing, Zapruder footage and vapour trails created by commercial aircraft, studied examination of selective evidence was all one needed to support a partisan viewpoint.

Australia fans argued with total conviction it had yielded a fair catch.

India supporters (or perhaps more pointedly, those who are card-carrying Kohli acolytes) were just as vehement it was indisputably not out.

And those with no dog in the dispute could credibly argue for either verdict.

But what seems remarkable is more than two decades since a similar kerfuffle bubbled over at the same venue prompting the shift to technological means to end arguments, there remains no universally accepted method of adjudicating low catches.

That's despite the Decision Review System emerging during that 23-year period, with a remit to provide an end to uncertainty.

Interviewed by Fox Cricket when lunch was taken today, Smith was unequivocal in his belief his right hand was wholly beneath the edge from Kohli when he flicked it skywards for Marnus Labuschagne to complete the 'catch' at gully.

"Hundred per cent, no denying it whatsoever," Smith said when asked if it was a legitimate catch.

"But umpire's made the decision, we'll move on."

Smith had shown at Adelaide earlier in the series, when he tried to retrieve a chance at slip that had tumbled from the gloves of Australia keeper Alex Carey only for Smith to immediately signal it had hit the ground, he is not one to engage in sharp practices.

However, the instant Kohli stood his ground and officiating umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat justifiably outsourced the decision to third umpire Joel Wilson, Australia understood the prospect of securing the wicket they so excitedly sought had already narrowed markedly.

The person with perhaps the best vantage point of the incident was Beau Webster, the Test debutant who was fielding at third slip and less than a metre to the right of Smith as he bent low in that direction and instinctively parried the chance.

"I had a good view and thought it was clear as day from where I was as being out," Webster said after a day that ended on an even more incendiary note following a verbal exchange between Australia's teen opener Sam Konstas and most of the India team.

"Obviously when you slow it down, the replays and the slow-mo, there is probably some grass that touched that ball.

"It's just a matter of how much, and whenever you get a low catch there's always going to be an element of grass close to the ball.

"We all thought it was out but unfortunately it didn't go our way.

"We were pretty happy he (Kohli, who was dismissed for a painstaking 17) didn't get a hundred after it.

"It was a difficult one, and it's difficult for a third umpire when you have those sort of replays.

"It was a bit inevitable in the end."

It's almost two years since the ICC dispensed with the convention of on-field officials providing a 'soft signal' when making umpire referrals, which would then stand as the final decision if the visual evidence proved inconclusive.

Any hope that might provide a smoother procedure for the vexed process disappeared when, in the inaugural game under the new protocols (the 2023 World Test Championship Final at The Oval between Australia and India), it was revealed to generate only more heated angst.

On the fourth day of the decider that Australia would ultimately win by 209 runs, Cameron Green claimed a low snare diving to his left in the gully off Shubman Gill which – after independent review by third umpire Richard Kettleborough – was ruled out.

Gill and his batting partner Rohit Sharma were clearly displeased with that outcome, as shown by the latter's post-match media conference contention that insufficient time and evidence had been devoted to the prosecutorial case.

Gill's response was even more pointed (and costly), with his subsequent social media post featuring a screenshot of the catch accompanied by two magnifying glasses and face palm emojis ruled a breach of the ICC's Code of Conduct for which he was fined 15 per cent of his match fee.

Kettleborough had clarified that, even though Green's left hand was resting on the grass when he claimed the catch, he was in full control of the ball.

But that was not sufficient to prevent scores of India fans branding Green a 'cheat' in social media posts.

Wilson's view of today's controversy was that, while Smith's hand appeared to be under the ball when it first made contact, it then "rolled" marginally off his outstretched index finger and grazed the ground before he was able to flick it up.

The tweaking of cricket's laws in response to advances in technology or occurrences in matches is the domain of the Marylebone Cricket Club's Laws sub-committee of which former Australia Test batter and coach Justin Langer is a member.

Langer was commentating for Channel Seven when today's catching conundrum arose and was in little doubt a fair catch had been completed.

"From what I have seen there (replays), that makes it more obvious to me that should have been out," Langer said.

"Steve Smith had his fingers, and you could see he was flicking the ball up, it was brilliant what he did.

"He had his fingers under the ball and he flicked it up deliberately and in my opinion that's out."

It was during his time as a player, in the final Test of the 2002-03 Ashes summer at the SCG, that Langer had called for greater onus to be placed on players' on-field honesty when it came to the contentious matter of close-to-the-ground catches.

That plea came after his Australia teammate Jason Gilespie claimed a low catch at mid-on from then England captain Nasser Hussain, who stubbornly stood his ground and was ultimately afforded the benefit of the doubt in keeping with convention of the time.

That was precisely the sort of occurrence the shift to expanded third umpire powers and the referral of disputed catches to a television scrutineer was supposed to alleviate.

But as events of today revealed with far sharper focus that state-of-the-art 4K digital pictures seems able to manage without any element of doubt, the evidence can still be framed to suit whichever side of a case one wants to argue.

Perhaps the most satisfactory outcome was today's decision put paid to India skipper Rohit Sharma's claim in the wake of the fourth Test at the MCG that his team forever seems to find themselves on the wrong side of those third-umpire rulings.

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: India won by 295 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets

Third Test: Match drawn

Fourth Test: Australia won by 184 runs

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal