Heat on DRS as Nine axes Hot Spot infrared tool for Ashes Hot Spot dumped for Ashes series Cricket writer Chris Barrett says a lack of "trust" in the infrared technology has led to Hot Spot being axed this summer. PT1M43S http://www.smh.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2v83m 620 349 October 9, 2013 - 10:30PM Hot Spot has been axed for this summer's Ashes series. Far from perfect: Hot Spot and batsmen. Six weeks out from the first Test against England in Brisbane, it has emerged the controversial infrared camera technology has been sidelined by the series' broadcaster Channel Nine. Hot Spot's Australian inventor Warren Brennan confirmed on Wednesday the decision-review device, which uses heat readings to analyse whether there has been contact between the ball and the bat and pads, would not feature in the showpiece five-Test series. It's their decision and that's what's been communicated to us. As far as I'm concerned, it is final," Brennan said. We're just moving on with things. Channel Nine have got a new deal with Cricket Australia which I know has cost them a lot more money. I gather there had to be some restructuring of costs. The development leaves the ball-tracking component, Eagle Eye, audio evidence picked up by stump microphones and slow-motion replays as the remaining tools at the disposal of the third official in the Ashes. Trust in Hot Spot plummeted in the first leg of the back-to-back Ashes series won 3-0 by England. While umpires were also to blame for poor decisions, it was at the centre of a succession of contentious verdicts when it failed to record fine edges. The unfathomable dismissal of Australia's Usman Khawaja at Old Trafford even convinced Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland to seek clarification on it from the ICC. In a dramatic lead-up to the fourth Test in Durham there were allegations, aired by Nine, that players were using silicon coating to limit the effectiveness of Hot Spot by hiding nicks. The ICC's general manager of cricket Geoff Allardice flew into England's north-east, cutting short a holiday, in an effort to restore players' confidence in the technology. The cost of Hot Spot - the company charges $10,000 a day for the four-camera system Nine has used, which totals $250,000 for the Test series - is a key reason behind the broadcaster cutting ties but its poor performance in England is also understood to be a factor. Brennan, however, was not upset with Nine, which initially introduced Hot Spot as an entertainment product before it was added to the DRS, but directed his ire at CA for refusing to provide financial support. "I don't have a beef with Channel Nine," Brennan said. The disappointing thing for us is that Cricket Australia didn't engage at all with us to try and come on board and help with this situation. They just said, 'No, it's got nothing to do with us. It's Channel Nine's responsibility'. What's disappointing is we work in four countries at the moment - well, until recently. Cricket Australia is the only body that doesn't contribute to our costs for the DRS components. New Zealand contribute directly to us, the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] contribute and also South Africa. My only beef is with Cricket Australia because we tried to engage with them several weeks ago and they refused. We need to continue to invest and improve the product so that everybody thinks it's getting better. If bodies like Cricket Australia won't come on board and contribute to that, there's not really any point in us continuing. A CA spokesman said: "We don't think it's appropriate to comment on discussions between Nine and one of its partners." Brennan conceded the furore surrounding Hot Spot and claims of batsmen deliberately using tape on bats to trick it "probably did" play a part in the decision to cut it for the Ashes. Brennan accepted that affair could have been handled better but said coatings on bats plays havoc with Hot Spot. "The point that I was trying to make was that it does significantly affect us," he said. The testing that we've done, and I haven't released that testing yet, is that when the coatings are on ... it does affect the Hot Spot signature.