An amateur village cricket team is at the centre of a cheating scandal that has gone viral across the world after one of their fielders was accused of tricking umpires by clicking his fingers to imitate the noise of an edge off the bat.
An investigation has been launched by the North Yorkshire and South Durham League into the cheating allegations against Saltburn Cricket Club after video footage emerged online.
In the footage shared widely online, Saltburn’s first slip appears to fool the umpires by clicking his fingers to get the batsman out.
Now the Daily Mail can reveal the cricketer at the centre of the storm is ‘legendary’ amateur player Brian Devine.
Mr Devine, 38, has played for years at Saltburn Cricket Club and is well known on the cricket scene in North Yorkshire.
A prolific batsman, he also previously played for Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club, helping them to win the Bradford Premier League second tier championship in 2023.
Following this achievement, he returned to Saltburn for the start of the 2024 season, with one social media post noting: ‘Excellent batting on Saturday from returning legend Brian Devine. 95 runs.’
There was such excitement about his return that he even managed to secure a sponsorship deal with local Indian restaurant Spices of Saltburn.
Amateur cricket player Brian Devine has been caught appearing to click his fingers to make it appear that a batter has been caught behind when in fact they haven’t hit the ball at all
Devine has been dubbed as ‘Clicky Ponting’ on social media for his actions on the cricket field
Saltburn player has been caught on camera clicking his fingers whenever ball was near bat
Norton batsman Noman Shabir protested that he didn’t touch the ball after being given out
Mr Devoine, a father-of-one, from Guisborough, Cleveland, works as a company secretary at Northallerton Auctions, which specialises in auctions for livestock and farm machinery.
When contacted about the viral video by the Daily Mail, and told he had been identified as ‘Clicky Ponting’, Brian responded ‘Naturally I can’t comment on that.’
Then when told he was being widely accused of cheating, and asked whether there was some other explanation for what takes place in the videos, he said: ‘I don’t want to talk about it. I’m at work.’
From his social media posts, in addition to his obvious love for cricket, Brian also appears to be a big fan of Boris Johnson.
In one post from 2022 he wrote: ‘Top man Boris. Others may try to put you down! I won’t have a bad word said! I am off to get my kettle.’
The accused cricketer’s mother-in-law today told the Mail he is a ‘man of integrity.’
Georgina Vaughan, the mother of Devine’s partner Clare, said the family had been shocked by the scale of the cheating row.
She said: ‘It was only a little village cricket match and now it’s become this thing that’s all over the news and social media.
‘It has got totally out of hand and there is nothing that any of us want to say.’
Asked whether Devine was a man of integrity, she replied: ‘He certainly is.’
Footage from Saltburn’s 2nd XI match with Norton Cricket Club in Division Two of the North Yorkshire and South Durham League last weekend showed a ball delivered by Saltburn bowler Sam Morrison passing the bat of Norton batsman Noman Shabir without making contact with it.
At the same time, Mr Devine playing at first slip seems to click his fingers.
When Saltburn wicketkeeper Josh Bowes takes the ball, Saltburn appeal and the umpire gives Shabir out.
Shabir can clearly be seen objecting to his dismissal and seems to indicate to the umpire that he did not hit the ball and that the noise heard was a clicking of fingers instead.
The clip and other similar evidence have attracted international media attention and gone viral online and on social media.
A statement from the North Yorkshire and South Durham League read: ‘The League has received a formal complaint regarding alleged incidents in a Division Two game on Saturday 25th July 2026. A full investigation has been initiated and until such time as the formal processes are complete, no further comment will be made.’
Saltburn won their match with Norton by a mammoth 159 runs.
Devine has been dubbed ‘Clicky Ponting’ – in a light-hearted reference to Australia legend Ricky Ponting.
That’s as far as the funny side goes though with the likes of Piers Morgan condemning the actions.
Taking to X, the avid cricket fan wrote: ‘Outrageous cheating, and just the tip of the iceberg from all that’s come out since it was exposed.
‘Clicky Ponting (as he is now known) and various teammates at Saltburn CC, have clearly been at this shameful scam for years. Imagine doing this in local amateur cricket? Pathetic.’
Other clips online appear to show Devine clicking his fingers to cheat umpires and earn dismissals unfairly in other matches.
One such example is a video showing footage of a match between Saltburn and Middlesbrough second XI.
Other incidences have been found of Devine clicking his finger in previous matches for wickets
The North Yorkshire and South Durham League have begin a full investigation into Saltburn
Saltburn have been widely-condemned on social media following multiple videos emerging
The actions of Saltburn have been described as ‘the worst case of cheating’ seen in cricket online, with it likely that long bans will be handed out. Unconfirmed reports online suggested that Devine has already been suspended for the rest of the season by Saltburn. Daily Mail Sport approached both Saltburn and Norton for comment but did not receive a reply.
In 13 matches across 2026 with Devine as the slip catcher, Saltburn’s wicket-keeper has taken 39 catches. In seven matches without Devine, the wicket-keeper has taken just five.
In addition to the numerous video clips seemingly showing Devine clicking his fingers online, further suspicion over Saltburn’s antics has been aroused by the scorecards of previous matches.
On July 18, Saltburn’s second XI played Shildon Railway CC with wicketkeeper Bowes taking a mammoth eight catches. Such a number is highly unusual. The record number of dismissals for a wicketkeeper in a Test match innings is seven. Bowes is averaging almost four catches per match in eight games this season. The investigation remains ongoing.
It is the responsibility of the North Yorkshire and South Durham League to investigate any allegations of cheating or complaints over the behaviour of teams as well as imposing any sanctions. As such, it is unlikely that at this stage the England & Wales Cricket Board – as English cricket’s governing body – will get involved directly.
EXCLUSIVE: WHO IS SALTBURN CRICKET CLUB’S CLICKER?
Exclusive by Vivek Chaudhary
An amateur village cricket team is at the centre of a cheating scandal that has gone viral across the world after one of their fielders was accused of tricking umpires by clicking his fingers to imitate the noise of an edge off the bat.
An investigation has been launched by the North Yorkshire and South Durham League into the cheating allegations against Saltburn Cricket Club after video footage emerged online.
In the footage shared widely online, Saltburn’s first slip appears to fool the umpires by clicking his fingers to get the batsman out.
Now the Daily Mail can reveal the cricketer at the centre of the storm is ‘legendary’ amateur player Brian Devine.
Brian, 38, has played for years at Saltburn Cricket Club and is well known on the cricket scene in North Yorkshire.
A prolific batsman, he also previously played for Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club, helping them to win the Bradford Premier League second tier championship in 2023.
Devine, a father-of-one, from Guisborough, Cleveland, works as a company secretary at Northallerton Auctions, which specialises in auctions for livestock and farm machinery
Following this achievement, he returned to Saltburn for the start of the 2024 season, with one social media post noting: ‘Excellent batting on Saturday from returning legend Brian Devine. 95 runs.’
There was such excitement about his return that he even managed to secure a sponsorship deal with local Indian restaurant Spices of Saltburn.
Devine, a father-of-one, from Guisborough, Cleveland, works as a company secretary at Northallerton Auctions, which specialises in auctions for livestock and farm machinery.
When contacted about the viral video by the Daily Mail, and told he had been identified as ‘Clicky Ponting’, Brian responded ‘Naturally I can’t comment on that.’
Then when told he was being widely accused of cheating, and asked whether there was some other explanation for what takes place in the videos, he said: ‘I don’t want to talk about it. I’m at work.’
From his social media posts, in addition to his obvious love for cricket, Brian also appears to be a big fan of Boris Johnson.
In one post from 2022 he wrote: ‘Top man Boris. Others may try to put you down! I won’t have a bad word said! I am off to get my kettle.’
The accused cricketer’s mother-in-law today told the Mail he is a ‘man of integrity.’
Georgina Vaughan, the mother of Devine’s partner Clare, said the family had been shocked by the scale of the cheating row.
She said: ‘It was only a little village cricket match and now it’s become this thing that’s all over the news and social media.
‘It has got totally out of hand and there is nothing that any of us want to say.’
Asked whether Devine was a man of integrity, she replied: ‘He certainly is.’
Footage from Saltburn’s 2nd XI match with Norton Cricket Club in Division Two of the North Yorkshire and South Durham League last weekend showed a ball delivered by Saltburn bowler Sam Morrison passing the bat of Norton batsman Noman Shabir without making contact with it.
At the same time, Saltburn slip fielder – who Daily Mail Sport understands is Brian Devine – seems to click his fingers. When Saltburn wicketkeeper Josh Bowes takes the ball, Saltburn appeal and the umpire gives Shabir out.
Shabir can clearly be seen objecting to his dismissal and seems to indicate to the umpire that he did not hit the ball and that the noise heard was a clicking of fingers instead.
Devine’s actions ‘disgust’ his sponsor
An Indian restaurant that sponsored controversial cricketer Brian Devine has said that it no longer wants to be involved with him and is ‘disgusted’ by the viral video that appears to show him clicking his fingers.
Akmol Hussain, owner of Spices restaurant in Saltburn told the Daily Mail that his sponsorship deal with Brian was worth £1,000 per year and also included providing him and other players with a discount when they ate at his establishment.
Mr Hussain said: ‘It’s not the biggest sponsorship deal in sport but that’s not the point. I’m a huge cricket fan and what’s happened is very bad. It’s not in the spirit of this gentleman’s game.
‘It’s not what I expect from Brian, or the club and I want nothing to do with them from now. I love cricket and even used to play for fun but I’m too old now.’
He added: ‘I’m very shocked and disgusted by this video and can’t believe that Brian would do something like this. I’ve met him many times, but he has damaged the reputation of cricket and my restaurant.’
